The Gift of Advent Ache

The Gift of Advent Ache
ALICIA BRUXVOORT

“We were saved with this hope ahead of us. Now hope means we are waiting for something we do not have. How can a man hope for something he already has?” Romans 8:24 (NLV)

The drizzles streaming down my cheeks didn’t fit with the worship spilling from my lips on that Christmas Eve long ago. It was the season of gladness, but my 17-year-old soul swelled with an unexpected sadness.

Juxtaposed against the merriment of the season and the thrill of my Savior’s birth, my tears felt awkward and out of place, like an ugly Christmas sweater at an elegant wedding party.

My friend flashed me a furtive glance and dug in her purse for a tissue, while I stared at my shoes and wondered what was wrong with me. Why is my heart aching when I have so many reasons to rejoice? Why am I longing for more when Jesus has already given me His all?

I may not have understood it then, but now I know that my tears weren’t the result of a teenage moodswing or proof of an ungrateful heart. They were merely an expression of an Advent ache — an expectant waiting for Jesus’ return.

We don’t talk about it much when we trim the tree and hang the stockings, but just as surely as Christmas shines with joy, it also swells with unmet longing.

And sometimes when we slow our feet and still our souls, we discover a nagging dissatisfaction that lingers just beneath the sheen of the season, an awkward ache, a yuletide yearning.

It often comes when we least expect it and stays when we wish it would leave. It doesn’t hinge on feelings or sway with circumstances. I’ve felt it when my family’s been gathered together in laughter and when we’ve been splintered apart by grief — when joy has come like a friend and when doubt has lurked like a thief. I’ve felt it when our finances are steady and when our bank accounts are drained, when my faith is strong and flourishing and when my hope is weak and strained.

Maybe you’ve felt it, too — this awkward Advent ache? Maybe it’s left you feeling worried and confused like 17-year-old me on that Christmas Eve long ago.

If so, may I encourage you with a simple truth I’ve been learning? The Advent ache isn’t intended to shatter our hope but to shift it.

The longing that lies within us is meant to point us to the promise that stretches ahead of us.

The Apostle Paul says it like this in Romans 8:22-25:

“We know that everything on the earth cries out with pain the same as a woman giving birth to a child. We also cry inside ourselves, even we who have received the Holy Spirit … We were saved with this hope ahead of us. Now hope means we are waiting for something we do not have. How can a man hope for something he already has? But if we hope for something we do not yet see, we must learn how to wait for it.”

Christmas is a season of waiting. We wait in lines, and we wait to open gifts. We wait for visits from loved ones, and we wait to complete our lists. And that Advent ache reminds us that our souls are waiting, too.

A baby in a manger is where the story begins, but thanks be to God, that’s not where our celebration ends. The Christmas story is just a prelude to Christ’s impending glory.

Jesus arrived on earth with wrinkled skin and a newborn squeal, but He’ll return again as conquering King with a mighty trumpet peal. (1 Corinthians 15:52) And on that day when He comes back to restore the world and make things right, our waiting will turn to worship, and our hope will become sight.

So, next time that yuletide yearning shows up like an awkward guest, we don’t need to let it steal our joy; we can simply let it stir our hope. Because God’s promises are clear — one day, our Advent ache will turn into eternal awe. Until then, we can let it remind us that the best is yet to come.

Dear Jesus, sometimes I’m discouraged by the longing in my heart. Would You use Your Word to turn my awkward ache into eager anticipation? And help me to stand firm in hope until I see You face to face. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
John 1:16-18, “From Him Who has so much we have all received loving-favor, one loving-favor after another. The Law was given through Moses, but loving-favor and truth came through Jesus Christ. The much-loved Son is beside the Father. No man has ever seen God. But Christ has made God known to us.” (NLV)

1 Peter 1:13, “Get your minds ready for good use. Keep awake. Set your hope now and forever on the loving-favor to be given you when Jesus Christ comes again.” (NLV)

Discovering Our True Identity By Dr. Charles Stanley

Discovering Our True Identity

By Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Many Christians are experiencing an identity crisis. They know they’re saved, but they don’t really know what to think about themselves. Let’s take a little test. Do you consider yourself a sinner saved by grace or a saint who occasionally sins? Both statements are true, but the first one dwells on your past identity, whereas the second focuses on the Lord’s perception of you.

If you are a believer, God’s Word says that you are a saint (v. 2). But too many of us still see ourselves as the same old sinner, who’s been forgiven and patched up and yet is basically unchanged inside. But the Lord says anyone in Christ “is a new creature; the old things passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17). That’s what being born again is all about. We can never go back to the way we were.

The solution to this identity crisis is to change the way we think about ourselves. If we don’t, we’ll rely on how we feel, and Satan will bombard us with reminders of our failures and sins. He wants to keep us focused on being a sinner, because he knows that the recognition of our sainthood will lead us to live like saints. We’ll be motivated and empowered to obey God, and the Devil will lose his foothold in our lives.

Jesus didn’t come just to save you from hell; He wants to live His life through you. In Christ, you have a new identity which has replaced your old one. If you will focus on who you are now, your actions will follow, and you’ll experience the enjoyment of a victorious Christian life.

Why Joy Is Never Dependent on Our Circumstances

Why Joy Is Never Dependent on Our Circumstances
By Debbie McDaniel

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Ps. 118:24

Many of us may have heard this verse over long years. But what's interesting to know is that it's set right within a Psalm where the author is writing about huge adversity. It's not written about when times are good, but when times are hard. Situations were changing. The Psalmist cried out to God in anguish, he was surrounded on all sides by the enemy, he felt pushed back, and about to fall. Yet right in the midst of huge struggles shared, this chapter both starts and ends with the same verse, of giving thanks and praise unto God.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever." v. 1,29

Such a powerful reminder to us: True joy is never dependent on our circumstances. We can still choose to give thanks. We can still believe in God’s goodness and love, for that’s what carries us through all difficult seasons.

We might be facing the toughest of times, but the truth is this, He's still given us today. He's with us, and will never leave or fail us. His love covers us, His peace sustains us, and His joy gives us the strength to face every trial and obstacle with courage and grace. We can rest in the security that Truth brings.

May His blessings overwhelm you today as you look to Him and choose joy.

Give thanks.

For He is good.

His love endures.

Forever.

Intersecting Faith & Life: No matter what you’re facing today, be confident in God’s unchanging love for you. If He’s given us today, then we still have breath left within us to bring honor to Him. Choosing joy in hard times takes effort and action on our part; it requires our hearts to be set on Him. May He help us this day, to choose well.

A Prayer for Lost Christmas Traditions

A Prayer for Lost Christmas Traditions
By Meg Bucher

Does the start of the Christmas season fill you with excited anticipation, or dread? For some of us, we get to re-live our favorite childhood traditions with our own families. For others, the past holiday seasons and lost traditions make sting our hearts. 

Isaiah 9:6 reminds us we can have hope and joy this time of year, no matter how paiinful the past has been. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God. He is the only one with the perfect amount of strength and courage to conquer sin for us and give us hope for this season and beyond.

If you are feeling sad because of lost traditions, seek Him for restoration. Jesus came to feel what we feel, because He loves who we are. Find new ways to celebrate Christ this Christmas season, and know that the good news of Christmas is for you.

Father,

We praise You for the Christmas season, and the remembrance of Jesus’ glorious birth! You remind us in Isaiah of your powerful namesake, who came to earth for us. He could not be described by just one name or in one way. He is the One who holds the key to our peace and our freedom.

Thank You, Jesus, for coming to earth to pursue us. Thank You for the traditions that we treasure enough to miss, and those that we are blessed to continue celebrating. Forgive us for making Christmas about anything but you, Jesus. Unearth the routines that threaten to trip us up in pursuit of You, and open our eyes to recognize what matters the most.

Be with us this Christmas, Jesus. Open our eyes and our hearts to see you in a fresh, new way, whether in the midst of time-honored traditions or fresh new ways to celebrate Your birth.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.