Finding True Light
Advent Devotional Intro
Every year, the Christmas season starts earlier than the last. I used to talk to friends and family, and they would say they decorate the day after Thanksgiving, and those who decorated early were few. This year, those who haven’t at least put out a few Christmas lights are the minority (at least in my circles). When I speak to those who have decorated, they often cite the fact that it brings up their mood. This then begs the question, why does our mood need to be raised? What is missing in our lives that we need to turn on the lights?
Each year, the church spends the weeks leading up to Christmas to remember the birth of Christ, who truly fulfills us. We remember the hope, peace, joy, and love Christ’s birth ushered into the world. It is only through faith in Christ that we can be restored to our Creator and really understand the meaning of being human. This year, we want to do the same thing but take extra time to recognize the whole story of Christ and that it required great emptiness to restore us to our Creator, and we are called to the same emptying of self as we surrender our lives and live like Christ. So we invite you to join us this Advent season reflecting on how emptiness will actually help us turn on the lights.
Week One Reflection
Daniel 2, 3, 6
When I was in middle school and high school, I would see the news stations reporting on Black Friday. While my family would travel to my grandparents’ house to celebrate Thanksgiving, Friday would just be another day; other families would be preparing and starting to sit in lines at stores for the best deals possible as early as Thursday evening. They were preparing for Christmas early and doing everything they could so they or their children could have the things they most desired on Christmas morning.
I know that many who would wait in those lines did so because they couldn’t really afford the full-priced item and they wanted their children to have the Christmas experience of their peers. Worries about money being tight are only one of the many mentally straining things at Christmas time. Maybe you wish the Black Friday deals were what they once were and are worried about finances and buying the best gifts. Maybe you are lonely and wish you had more people to celebrate Christmas with. Maybe you have anxiety caused by all the pressure to have the most exciting holiday plans. Or maybe you are comparing yourself to others and dreading the family conflict you always seem to walk into during the holidays.
All of these are mentally taxing, but what if you had to face the king who stole you and your people from your land? What if you were threatened with being burnt in a furnace or fed to starving lions? This week we will take a peek at these stories from Daniel to see the true king, and maybe see how we can navigate what is challenging us mentally this Advent season.
Lord, show us where real hope is found, reveling to us who is really in control as we read the stories found in Daniel. Amen