The Weary Rejoice

The thrill of hope. A Weary world rejoices

This feels so relevant to Christmas.  Christmas brings its own energy. A joy and a festiveness that lightens a dreary time of year.  I believe it comes from the thrill of hope. A renewal in the reminder of our coming King. The anticipation sets our hearts on something to hope and believe in.  Something we know we can celebrate.

And yet, the weariness is still there.  December comes after 11 months of life. 11 months of ups and downs. The victories, the defeats, and the ordinaries.  Even as we anticipate the joy of the season, many find themselves weary.

I have often wondered why people who don’t love Jesus find so much joy in Christmas time.  Without the true meaning of Christmas, without celebrating Jesus, the season seems exhausting to me.  Just desperately fitting in all the things, doing all the Holidays stuff, buying all the presents, and planning all the parties.  Without Jesus, it all just feels empty and chaotic. Because with Jesus, I can look at the many things we fill our season with and see purpose.  See joy and celebration. It points my eyes to the manger, and more than that, the cross.  

But without Jesus, what is the purpose of the season?  What is the driving force?

The truth of that song is that the world is weary.  The world that Jesus entered on that night was weary from waiting.  Weary from oppression. Weary from its own striving. And we needed His redemption to give us the thrill of hope.  We can’t have hope without Jesus because there is nothing to hope in. He brings our salvation which allows us to hope.

We all come into December with some level of weariness.  Living this life is tiring. The Bible promises that we will face trouble.  And those troubles will not necessarily disappear in January. We don’t always start the New Year with a clean slate.  

So in December we need to remember to Hope.  We need to remember that Jesus came to us. That He lived his life with all its trials and heartache, and He is on the throne.  He came not just to empathize, but to redeem.  

Without the message of hope, the promise of redemption, we are just weary people trying to fill our season to avoid our pain.

For many people around you, there hope is in Christmas, not in Christ.  They want a fun and festive season to get their mind off their weariness.

But then where does that leave them on December 26th.  Or honestly, where does that leave them when the perfect gift doesn’t arrive. Or sickness ruins their holiday plans. Or when the parties don’t live up to their expectations, and their families are difficult.

It leaves them weary. Maybe more weary than before because the thing they looked to for salvation fell apart. To hope is a risk. And to hope and be let down is defeat. 

That is why we must Hope in what is true. What is real. What is lasting.

Hope fulfilled brings rejoicing. Hope in the living Savior brings life to a weary world. 

So rejoice! Celebrate the season to the fullest! Because we have hope. Our Savior has come. Let the weary world rejoice.