When Christmas Doesn't Feel Like Christmas

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." except when it's not. And when it's not, it usually feels like the worst time of the year. What do we do when Christmas comes around and our halls aren't decked with holly, the sleigh bells aren't ringing, and there are no chestnuts roasting on the open fire? In a time that celebrates the hope, peace, love, and joy that Christ brought into the world- what do we do when don’t see or feel any of those things in our lives? 

While Philippians 4:4-9 isn't considered a "Christmas" passage, we find all four of those advent themes in it. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your [gentleness] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus …What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

Rejoice- be joyful. The last thing we want to do in hard times is intentional rejoicing. But joy is not a feeling, it is a gift. We can choose to receive the gift of joy that Jesus has given to us even when we do not feel it. This passage doesn't say, "Rejoice in the Lord when you feel like it, when you're happy, when good things happen..." It says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." We can choose to rejoice in the Lord in all circumstances- loneliness, hurt, anger, even when we can't see anything but the present trial we are in. In Christ, the greatest trial we will ever face, death, has already been overcome. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can choose joy even when life is joyless. If we can't find joy in anything else in our lives, we can know there is always joy in Christ. 

Do not be anxious- keep the hope. Instead of dwelling on everything life is not, we can look ahead to eternity where everything is made right. Even if life never gets better, even if it never stops feeling hopeless, we can always find hope in the gift of salvation. Because of Christ we have the hope of eternity. We have more hope than this world could ever offer. When we place our hope in God, we can always have the confidence to make our requests known to God. Even if he never answers the way we want him to, we can have hope in the darkest times knowing that God can use anything, good or bad, for our good and his glory. 

Peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Peace does not just mean the absence of problems. Peace is serenity in the midst of problems. As Jesus says in John 14:27, he gives “peace not as the world gives.” His peace is the kind of peace that doesn’t make sense. It surpasses all understanding the human mind is capable of. His peace gives us that calm sense of security when everything else around us is falling apart. When we make all those other action steps of rejoicing when we don’t feel like it and keeping the hope, we are met with peace that can only be explained by the power of Jesus Christ.

“The God of peace will be with you." This is the love of God. God loves us so much that his desire is to be with us. That is only possible by God becoming flesh in the form of baby to one day sacrifice his life for all sinners on the cross. God’s love is the greatest gift we could ever receive. His love never leaves us nor forsakes us. God is with us in the darkest places. And when it feels like no one else does, God has never stopped and never will stop loving us. If our Christmas feels absent of all love, we can remember God’s love that will always be with us.

So if Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas this year and you’re not exactly feeling jolly, remember that we don't have to feel any of these things. They are found in and through Christ, not ourselves. When we don't feel any of those things, we can always look to the Holy Spirit to give us those things. Christmas is not a feeling. It is about the gift of our Savior from sin and the fullness of life we find in him.