Christmas Eve- Anticipating Hope

For unto 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 9:6

It’s one of my most favorite days of the entire year- Christmas EVE.

There is something so special about this day. The anticipation you have worked up over the last month (or more for us early birds…) has finally come to a climax, candle light Christmas services, putting cookies out, family coming in from out of town, and following old traditions that we have done for years. It is the best day.

I think that we can all agree, truly no matter which end of the political spectrum you land on or whatever you are passionate about, that 2016 was unpredictable and weird. It’s been a weird year- not even JUST because of politics. Crazy things have happened, more tragedy, more national scares, more things to be aware of because of this or that… It’s been a wild year.

This year has also been a year of personal growth, a year that I have had to lean more on God than truly ever before. A year I have had to remind myself almost daily that I have a God that is in control, and I am certainly not. I have been more aware of the presence of our God who, because of a baby that came and was born for you and I, is close and intimate. He is relational and friendly, he is close to us like a father or best friend.

Isaiah, a book of the bible that the top scripture is from, was written by a prophet 700 years before Jesus ever came to walk the earth. This man predicted the birth of a savior that the people of God were waiting for, anticipating, anxiously awaiting, hoping for, praying for, desiring more than anything else in the world in the midst of oppression and chaos… Ahh, much like we do for Christmas day to arrive. Year after year they prepared their hearts for the fulfillment, believing what has been foretold and promised would indeed come to pass. Sound like Christmas? Ah, more like the best Christmas ever.

Perhaps this whole season really does reflect the hearts of god’s people- it really is all about Jesus.

The book of Isaiah is one of the most historically confirmed books of the Bible, meaning not many scholars would argue that Isaiah didn’t exist and that he predicted things that absolutely came true. Link all of the history together, all the facts, all the puzzle pieces as I talked about a few posts back. Either Jesus was crazy and a whole lot of people were easily manipulated to believe his craziness, or he was indeed who he said he was.

I pick the latter.

For unto us a child is born. THIS WAS WRITTEN 700 YEARS BEFORE JESUS.

Unto us a savior is given.

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I encourage you to read Isaiah 9 tonight, followed by the Christmas story found in Luke 2.

We get to feel every single year at Christmas time just a sliver of what the people of God felt thousands of years ago waiting for the arrival of their savior. That childlike faith, the fluttering of our spirits, that’s all reflective of the hundreds of years the people of God waited. Because Jesus fulfilled the prophecy, he came and did what he said he would, we get to live with that hope of the savior within us. It’s no longer a time of waiting, it’s simply choosing to grasp his love and accept what he has already accomplished.

Merry Christmas, sweet friends. I will say this once more, if you don’t have somewhere to go tonight, I would love to see you at Anchor Church. We have services at 3:30 and 5 PM, and you are SO welcome to celebrate with us. You are so loved.

xoxo- Han

All photos by Cottonwood Road Photography for The Cake by Hannah