If you feel lonely, misunderstood, rejected, falsely accused, and left out, just remember Mary, Joseph and Jesus all understand how you feel.
Praying for the presence of Christ to encounter all who need to know or be tangibly reminds that God, Immanuel, is with you. He sees you. He loves you. He will never forsake you, abandon you or reject you. When you call on Him in humility and genuineness of heart, He is there for you. He will always be the friend that sticks closer than a brother or a sister.
Many are not having the merriest of Christmases, but all can encounter the Christ of Christmas. Everything was not oh so merry for Mary, Joseph and Jesus. They all, however, did encounter the joy of obedience and surrender to God and His divine plan.
Father God, Thank you for understanding how I feel. I desire to really know You more and draw closer to Your love and light in spite of discouragement, disappointments, and all the darkness that surrounds me. Fill me with a fresh encounter with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for Your gift of grace that covers my life. Fill me with the peace of Your presence this Christmas. Amen.
Prayers of peace and joy over all in the presence of Christ on this glorious Christmas Day that the Lord has made.
Your sister in Christ, Joyful Jenny
He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Isaiah 53:3-12
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.
Words of Jesus, John 14:16-21
More Word references: Proverbs 18:24; Romans 8:31-39
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