A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT by Wyley Wilkin

Fear, chaos, anxiety, hopelessness, loneliness, unrest.

Those are just a few words many of us could use to describe this last year. Between the pandemic, murder hornets, record-breaking wild fires, civil unrest—not to mention our own personal hurdles—this year has been one we’d like to forget. There has been good hidden in the craziness, but chances are it won’t be what immediately comes to mind when reminiscing on 2020 in years to come.

Those same adjectives could be used to describe the setting in which Christ came to us over 2000 years ago.

God had been silent for hundreds of years. Israel was in chaos as families traveled to the place of their birth for the census. Herod, feeling threatened by the prophecies of the coming Messiah, ordered the killing of all the Hebrew male children. God’s people were surrounded by darkness, unrest, and hopelessness.

Yet this is how Christ came to his people.

When it seemed that darkness was winning, God sent his people a bright beacon on a quiet night in Bethlehem. When sin seemed utterly pervasive and the power of death seemed unconquerable, a Savior was born as a helpless babe. When humanity’s pride and self-centeredness began reaching new heights, God humbled Himself, leaving His riches and glory in heaven and came to live among us.

He came to us. He brought the centerpiece of heaven—Himself—to our broken world and donned our imperfection. He carried within His lowly frame the joy of heaven, the love of the Godhead, the hope of the Savior of all, and the peace of His unending reign. He brought it down from His throne and deposited it in our underserving world.

He came to us.

When we are able to take a step a back and remember the circumstances in which Christ came, we can see how this year of chaos is actually a great time to be alive. That peace, love, hope, and joy abound in each and every one of His children through the life of Christ that actively lives in our hearts. Just as Christ brought himself to us all those years ago, we now bring that hope to those around us. And this world needs it more than ever.

This Advent season, let’s embrace all that Christ’s birth brought us and transcend the darkness the year has ushered in. Let’s take the peace that Emmanuel has brought near to our hearts and light the candle of hope in those around us. Let’s partner with our Lord and Savior, the Prince of Peace, spreading the grace and hope that has conquered death forever.

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7