Advent, Day 10

What a strange day.

First, a sermon that I won't forget -- oh, I'll forget the details, but not the essence. The essence of sermon today, at least for me, was that Jesus' coming to earth did not, and was not meant to, remove despair, sadness, hardship....His coming to earth was to give us hope. He is my Savior; He is the Savior. I wonder if those I sat next to in church were moved as much as I was when Pastor Bob talked about "just give(ing) everything you know about you over to everything you know about Him." The very words that so encouraged me to do just that a few years ago.

The reminder that He is there when you are broken is such a necessary reminder for me, and I imagine for lots of people. I have a hard time imagining that this Christmas is going to be anything but a struggle with loneliness, and not the kind of loneliness that goes away with a busy schedule and lots of people all around. Christmas is such a marker every year; a point at which a review of the year takes place. And this last year wasn't good in many respects.

But, if you check out the scripture Pastor Bob used today - Isaiah 9:1-7 - you will see that just as Isaiah was speaking about hope to a people who were broken and beaten and in despair, he speaks to us through the scripture, assuring us that there is hope for us even when we are broken, beaten and in despair. "Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress." (Isaiah 9:1 NIV)

It sure does not seem like it sometimes, but God is in our midst at all times.

It is easy, as Pastor Bob suggested, to get down with all the things in this world that can cause us distress. Just watching the news can lead you down a path of despair. But then, I think of all the people who don't watch the news -- they have no TV, no home, no family, etc., and their path of despair. I think of all the people who are busy shopping, shopping, shopping, but will not receive the gift they long for or perhaps the gift they need. People from all walks of life have issues at one time or another. I hope they hear Isaiah's message and let it sink in - maybe they won't "listen" right away, but at some point wonder what gave Isaiah hope in the midst of the despair surround him.

One of my friends has just recently been to the hospital and was diagnosed with "exquisite pain". In the medical sense, exquisite means "intense, keen or sharp". Jesus himself suffered "exquisite pain" - for us. Some people don't think this makes sense. Think about it, though. Jesus was sent to us as a Savior. He becomes our link to God - in fact, the only way to God is through Jesus. Jesus is our intercessor. God sent his son in the form of man, and that man experienced the suffering, the temptations, the "exquisite pain", that we have.

I thank God for being my Comforter. For understanding our "exquisite pain" through personal experience. As rotten as things can seem once in a while, without him I would be in despair with no hope -- far worse off than I am now! I look forward to meeting him.