May 2 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The Christmas and holiday season is always a busy time of the year. People run from one store to the next purchasing gifts for friends and relatives. Many kitchens are filled with the aroma of cooking and baking. There are cards to write, pictures to send, travel and dinner plans to make.

Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. The carols that are heard in stores and shops speak of peace on earth and good will. Yet once we unwrap Christmas of all its commercialism and hype, what is really left? Quite frankly, Christmas is one of the most difficult times of the year for many people. We may not always realize this or pay attention to it, but there are thousands who dread the Christmas season. The holiday season is a time when they feel lonely. The loss of loved ones rises to the foreground more than ever. Behind all the celebration, singing, music and concert-going is an emptiness that nothing seems to fill.

Christmas delivers a message of comfort and joy that needs to be received in faith. The main focus of this celebration can be summed up in one word: Immanuel. Christmas is not in the first place about gift-giving or children or holidays but it is about God. In the birth of Jesus He confirms that He will not abandon His people—even if family, the nation you live in, or the whole world turns away from Him. He is with you in the most difficult situations. This is the gospel we are to believe.

In Isaiah 7:1-14, King Ahaz is confronted by the gospel of Christmas. The king doesn’t hear the sound of carols filling his royal courtyard and he doesn’t have his palace all lit up with Christmas lights. He has no clue what Christmas is all about. Ironically, he is one of the very first people to hear the Christmas message! Like many today, the Christmas message goes right by him. In fact it condemns him because he refuses to trust and believe in the Lord God. In spite of unbelief, the work of the Lord is not stopped; He will give a sign demonstrating how God remains faithful, even though the king is faithless. Immanuel: our God is with us! Let that message never testify against us.