A Blue Christmas

 

“For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14 ESV).

 

Christmas is a time of celebration; however, the joy of the celebration can easily be interrupted by grief or sadness. It is not unusual for some to ask me questions like, “What do you do when you can’t find God?” Others have shared with me that they pray, and it feels like they are talking to an empty chair; or, they read their Bible, but it’s just words, and it does not mean anything to them.” C.S. Lewis wrote that when he prayed during his wife’s illness, the doors to heaven seemed to have been “double-bolted.” Some of you may be having a similar experience this Christmas. You may have had that experience of feeling that God is far away and unreachable. Even some of the psalmists wrote about times when God did not seem to be anywhere near. This is not uncommon in the Scripture (cf. Psalm 22; Mark 15:34).

 

So, what do you do when you can’t find God? Do what the psalmist did, and cry out to God. Let him know how much you need him. And read and reread today’s reading, which assures us that when we seek God with all our hearts, we will find him. God wants to be a part of our everyday lives, just as he showed us when his Son, our Savior was born.

 

I often recommend that you find that place where it is easiest for you to experience God and simply sit in His presence. It may be indoors or outdoors. For me it is always outdoors, especially just as the sun sets in the west. I often hear God’s comforting and encouraging words when I can see His wonderful works in creation. Wherever you find that place in your life, visit it as often as you need during the difficult times you are experiencing in your journey.