When Christmas Doesn’t Feel Hopeful

For me, December feels sorrowful. Through the years, I’ve had to endure many difficult things in this month: A good friend’s mom went into the surgical room for a minor operation, but never came out. Another experienced complications during childbirth and the child came into the world with permanent disabilities.

Even the weather seems to conspire to create this sombre melancholy. The chill in the air, the overcast skies, and the frequent rains (I live in Singapore), all combine to force my emotions to reflect the dismal weather.

Yet, while my friends and I are grieving, the world moves on for many. While some homes are filled with anguished mourners, the malls bustle with merrymakers. The joy of the season is thriving in some, while others struggle to take another step or even another breath. The loneliness created by our sorrows in the face of others’ joy can leave us in utter despair.

But even in my own grim setting, a glimmer of light shines through. This sounds so clichéd, but it’s true. For in this month, whether we are mourning or merry, we celebrate the birth of Christ—a historical event, the fulfillment of a promise made thousands of years ago.

Light in the Darkness

“The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned . . . .
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” —Isaiah 9:2,6

2,000 years ago, to show the depth of his love for us, God entered our broken world. He came alongside us in our pain and shattered dreams to show us who He is and offer us something better. 

Through Jesus, we see the invisible God and understand that He is love. He is compassionate, patient, and powerful. He can mend our broken bodies and heal our wounded souls. Through His love, which led to His death for us, He is turning an upside-down world right again.

In the Christmas season, we recall Jesus’s birth, an infant who would bring hope to the hopeless and to give life to the perishing. But Christmas isn’t only about looking backward to Jesus’s first coming. It also anticipates his return, the time when he returns to earth—a day when he will wipe away every tear. For just as his first coming was joyously anticipated by the prophet Isaiah, Jesus himself said that he would come again. 

The day and circumstances of his return remain clouded in mystery, much as his first coming as a baby was unexpected, but we do know that when he comes, he will bring to its finish the ultimate redemptive plan of God. When he returns, there will be no more death, mourning or crying or pain. Indeed, all these things will be gone forever.

So even when Christmas joy is twisted and marred with heartache, we can still have hope: Christ is coming again. The baby who was placed in a manger will return as King to wipe every tear from our eyes, and we will enjoy his blessings forever (Revelations 21:4).

Meanwhile, we don’t have to pretend that we are okay . . . 

I was saddened by the news of my friend’s mom’s death, and I questioned why a young life was robbed of the opportunity to enjoy life fully by being born with severe disabilities. I was upset, along with my friends, for the pains they had to go through as they learned to adjust to a new normal, of a missing loved one or attending to a special needs child. 

And I’m glad that it’s okay to not be okay. We can take our time to heal. God doesn’t require us to be dauntless in the face of adversity but instead invites us to come to Him with our questions. Jesus showed us what God is like. His hands touched the leper (Mark 1:41Luke 7:11-17). He hurts when we hurt. We have a sympathetic Savior who suffers with us. 

Perhaps, we don’t feel so hopeful this Christmas season. We are struggling with an illness, or facing a depressing situation at home or work. Let’s take heart: “For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:2,6). God loves you and me so much that He gave us His Son. He cares. And He will walk with us in and through our trials, as our “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. 

—Written by Poh Fang Chia. Used by permission from the author.