On why the first Christmas speaks to both joy and hardship, and how Jesus meets us in every circumstance.
We often imagine Christmas as warm, settled, joyful, and full of peace. And when God gives us a season like that, with laughter and abundance, it is a gift to enjoy with gratitude.
But the very first Christmas looked nothing like that.
It was marked by poverty, pressure, misunderstanding, and uncertainty. Mary and Joseph were on the road because of an oppressive census. Jesus was born far from home and laid in a manger. Soon after, the family fled to Egypt as refugees. And surrounding all of this was the grief and fear caused by a violent ruler who devastated the families of Bethlehem.
For many people today, this sounds much closer to their reality than the Christmas scenes we picture. Some are walking through loss. Some feel the strain of finances or relationships. Some are far from home. Some are carrying anxiety, waiting for answers, or simply trying to breathe under the weight of life.
This is the world Jesus entered. And into that world, Jesus came near.
Christmas Makes Room for Every Kind of Season
Some will celebrate this year with joy and fullness, and that is a blessing from the Lord. Others will step into the season with pressure and pain. There are homes this year where someone is missing at the table. There are hearts that feel tired. There are stories still waiting for healing, clarity, or direction.
The comfort of the Christmas story is that Jesus did not wait for a perfect world before He stepped into it. He came to the world we actually live in. After four hundred years of silence, God kept His promises. He drew near in a way no one expected. And He entered human weakness in order to meet us in ours.
Jesus did not come to decorate an already happy world.
He came to redeem a hurting one.
Learning to Abound and to Be Brought Low
Paul said, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12–13, NKJV).
Across my life, I have known many different kinds of Christmases. I remember a Christmas when my father left and the confusion and ache that filled the house. I remember a Christmas when both my parents were gone, and I spent it with my grandmother, feeling safe with her yet painfully aware of what was missing. I remember a Christmas in bootcamp, wondering what in the world I had done and feeling the weight of being far from home. There were Christmases that felt peaceful and settled, and others that felt overwhelming and heavy. There was a Christmas when I felt alone even while surrounded by people. There was my first Christmas as a follower of Jesus, when everything felt new and alive. There was our first Christmas as a newly married couple, filled with joy, hope, and the sweetness of beginning a life together.
After that came many Christmases of infertility, when waiting felt long and prayers felt unanswered. Later came a Christmas marked by a miscarriage, a quiet and tender season when hope felt fragile. And then came an adoption Christmas, full of wonder, gratitude, and the beautiful weight of new beginnings. And after that, there was a pregnant Christmas, a season marked by joy, amazement, and the kindness of God in restoring hope. And looking back, through every one of those seasons, what has never changed is the peace, the joy, and the goodwill of God toward us.
If your season is full, Jesus is your strength to enjoy it with humility and gratitude.
If your season is heavy, Jesus is your strength to endure it with hope and quiet confidence.
Whether you are abounding or brought low, Jesus is enough.
A Word for the Weary
If this Christmas carries pressure or uncertainty, if you feel the ache of someone missing, if finances, family, or health feel fragile, if you are far from home or in a place you never expected to be, Jesus is near to you.
He draws close to the brokenhearted.
He meets us in weakness, not after it is resolved.
You are not forgotten.
You are not unseen.
You are not alone.
The same Jesus who stepped into a world marked by instability and sorrow is the Jesus who walks with you today. And His message is still the same. “Do not be afraid,” and “I am with you.”
A Prayer for This Christmas Season
My prayer for you this Christmas is the prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesians.
“That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18–19, NKJV).
May Jesus illuminate your heart with a hope that is stronger than circumstance and deeper than sorrow. May you sense His presence in the quiet places, His strength in your weakness, and His peace in the middle of uncertainty. May the Holy Spirit steady you with the assurance that His calling, His inheritance, and His power remain unchanged in every season.
A Carol for the Soul
Charles Wesley captured the wonder of the incarnation in words that continue to soften and steady our hearts.
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.
Hail the incarnate Deity.
Pleased as man with men to dwell.
Jesus, our Emmanuel.”
And again:
“Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.”
This is the Jesus who came near.
The Jesus who enters our weakness.
The Jesus who brings healing to weary hearts.
And the Jesus who remains Emmanuel, God with us, in every circumstance.
A Simple Christmas Benediction
May Jesus steady your heart where life feels unsteady.
May His peace guard your mind.
May His nearness be your comfort and your strength.
And may you know deeply and personally this Christmas that Emmanuel has come, and He has come for you. “Glory to the new-born King.”
