Today, one of my best friends Hannah Grace wrote something so good. Take it away Hannah Grace!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ~Isaiah 9:6
A couple of months ago, I was sitting in one of my classes at school while we were reading some slides about managing stress that my teacher prepared for us. There was a list of the most universally stressful things. As we read the list out loud as a class, there was an awkward pause following the word “Christmas”. My class immediately started asking, “How is Christmas stressful? Isn’t it the most wonderful & joyful time of the year?” Our brains at first were confused at the description of this time of celebration, when in reality, this is so true that the world has made this time stressful and more of a burden than a joyful time. With all of the mistletoe, parties, decorations, & even Santa, we tend to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is the day we celebrate the One who came to give us freedom. Instead of falling into the cultural perspective of Christmas, let’s reflect on this time’s true purpose through resting in His presence.
What does resting in His presence look like? It looks like taking time out of your day (usually about 10-15 minutes) to just sit and listen to Him. Do not let your mind wander off to worldly things, but keep your mind focused on heavenly things. Keep your mind thinking through His attributes and reflect on how you see Him use those attributes to work in your own life. I am completely guilty of rarely taking time to rest in His presence because I am constantly on the go, rarely stopping to just sit and spend time with Him. As humans, we need rest. The Lord kept the Israelites accountable to work throughout the week and take time to rest on the seventh day of the week, just like God did on the seventh day of creation. Our bodies need this rest, but God does not. He rests, however, to set an example for us to follow.
“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. ‘ ~Psalm 121:3-4
How can we keep Christ in Christmas and not be caught off guard by the constant speed of culture? When Jesus came to the earth, the shepherds, wise men, and His family all sat down in admiration of the Savior in their presence. They celebrated the true purpose for the Christmas season. Christmas is not about the gifts, not about the parties, not about falling in love, but it is about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Take time today to sit down and admire His character because it will refocus your mind, and it will fill you up to take on the rest of your day. ~Hannah Grace
I'm going to add just a little to what HG wrote. I agree with what she shared for today's blog post because we do NEED rest! We need rest in the Lord. We need to just stop going and going and going, and actually take a break. Rest in the Lord. (and remember the reason of the season of course.)
A YouTuber that I enjoy watching is doing vlogmas this year. She has been posting new videos every day, and what I have really enjoyed about her videos every day is that she has a Bible verse she reads at the beginning of each video, and then she gives you a couple minutes to pray and just rest. Her name is Katie, and you can find her on YouTube at Miss Katie.
I love how she does that because I have not seen anyone else do that, and it just gives me a moment to take a deep breath, and pray to my Lord and Savior before I watch her videos.
Her purpose for doing that is to remind everyone the real reason for the season of Christmas, but also reading the Bible verses she provides, and taking a moment to pray gives you a moment to rest and take a break from everything happening in your life.
It's so important to just rest, and so much more important to rest in the Lord! Please, think about what Hannah Grace wrote today, and apply it to your life! We have so many chances during the day to just put down our phones and rest in the Lord, but the question is, do we take those chances? ~Ella (btw, thank you Hannah Grace for today's blog post!)