Advent, And Preparing The Way

Today is the 1^st of December. The first day of Advent. The parallels are pretty striking in our home. We are waiting for a baby in more ways than one. Perhaps that is why Advent seems so special and sacred to me this year. As we are now officially on countdown for our little Christmas Day baby, I am also reminded so sharply of the Saviour, our Emmanuel, whose birth we celebrate on the 25^th December each year.

I was watching a video recently which discussed the differences between Christmas celebrations in the UK and the US. The girl representing the UK shrugged her shoulders and said ‘oh, Christmas isn’t a religious thing at all in the UK’.

I was horrified. Sure, I know Christmas has become commercialised and for many it is more about the presents, and the family and traditions then it is about a holy night, where God in human flesh humbled himself to be born in a manger, in a stable, in Bethlehem. But surely people still realise it’s the reason we have Christmas at all? Surely people still go to church for perhaps the only time in the year? Surely people still cast a tender glance at the nativity scenes in people’s homes or watch their child in the school nativity and remember an old, old story?

What gave me comfort in that moment? For that girl perhaps, Christmas isn’t about religion, or indeed about Jesus. But for me and my house, it is. For many of my friends it is. For people all around the world it is. And Jesus, that glorious name, will be lifted up and adored by His people this Christmas. The gates of hell shall not prevail against His church. They are still there, still waiting, still trusting, still coming to adore Him.

God gave me a verse for the third trimester of my pregnancy. It was Isaiah 40v3 ‘a voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God’.

I had the sense that this season of slowing down was to be used to prepare the way for Him in my life. To let go of the things of the world and make space in my life for God, a straight highway for His will to be done, His glory to be revealed and for His comfort and peace to fill all my worries and concerns as I approached welcoming a new life into the world and the art of motherhood.  

Yesterday I finished work and started maternity leave. Today is the 1^st December. My advent reading this morning was entitled ‘Prepare the Way’.

This Christmas, I implore you to come away for a while, into His presence and prepare the way for Him. It’s easier for me, I know, because I’ve now finished work and my schedule looks much quieter for the next few weeks (provided baby E doesn’t show up early!) But perhaps it is even more important for you, busy with work, trying to fit in Christmas shopping and wrapping and card writing, nativity planning and family visiting and all the other not-bad but often distracting things we fill our lives with. You don’t HAVE to do any of it. The best decision you can ever make is to come away with Him for a while. Enter His rest. Embrace the holiness. Remember who you are. Remember how deeply you need a Saviour. Remember that He sent one. Remember that one day, He is coming back.

‘But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Saviour’. Phil Ch3v20

This morning I listened to Hillsong’s Christmas album, The Peace Project while I had my quiet time. The first song Joy To the World had the simple chorus, ‘we will sing joy, we will sing joy, we will sing joy, joy to the world’

And it struck me.

We live in a world that needs some joy this Christmas. In our country alone newspapers and news programmes spark fear, as we wonder whether it will be deal or no deal, and how that will affect our country. People die in forest fires or in a restaurant by the gun of an ex soldier, traumatised by war.

And many people will find joy as they spend time with family and friends at Christmas. But that joy will only last a few days at best. The decorations and twinkle lights come down, and January starts, another year of uncertainty.

Friends, we hold TRUE JOY in our hearts. This is about more than just spending time with the Lord, to be refreshed and comforted and restored. This is about holding this joy in our hands and carrying it wherever we go. We have the opportunity to be light carriers this Christmas season.

God counts the stars and knows each one by name. He knows each one, just as He knows each one of us, our hopes, dreams, even the number of hairs on our head. He knows each one of His children, even those that don’t know Him yet. How he must wait in eager anticipation for the day when that child will turn their gaze on Him and confess their sin, and their need of Him. Like the gracious Father He is, He will gladly scoop them up, wash away their shame and past mistakes with His shed blood and hold them close, like a Shepherd with a lamb.

Let’s join Him in His work. This Advent, join me in preparing the way for Him in your hearts and homes. Let’s soak in His love and delight, until His joy fills our hearts to overflowing. Let’s carry that joy like treasure in our hands.

Like stars in the sky, there are those who wait. And they don’t know their Father yet