Joy in the In-Between - Devotion 4

Have You Prepared Room? 

The Christmas season brings so many things to do. I am not sure how many Christmas parties, family events, school plays, church things, or other events are on your calendar this season, but I am sure it is a lot! 

The Christmas season also brings a lot of loneliness for many people. For some, there is not much on your calendar and you are looking at Christmas wondering if anyone will care or even know you are there. 

Whether you have much to do or wondering if you will have anything to do, the question is the same today: Have you prepared room for Jesus this season? 

The famous Christmas carol puts it like this: 

“Let every heart prepare Him room” refers back to the fact that the innkeeper had “no room” for Mary and Joseph in the inn and, thus, no room for Jesus. While there is some debate about this encounter and how it all went down, the question is good for us to consider: Have you prepared room for Jesus this Christmas? 

At Christmas, it is very easy to focus only on what you will or will not have. Your expectations of this season will largely determine how you view the coming days left before December 25th. These expectations reveal to you what the foundation of your joy is. 

Jesus would tell His disciples in John 15:9-11, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” 

Abide in the love of Jesus. What does it mean to abide? Abiding is where you live and breathe. This is your coming and going life. Whatever you abide in is what sustains you. Joy comes when you abide by the love of Jesus, no matter the circumstance. 

In the middle of everything you are doing or not doing, have you prepared room for Jesus’ love to overcome it all? May I encourage you to make time to spend with Jesus this season? Read through the Christmas account, spend time with the Advent readings, and even an Advent wreath. Focus on what you have only in Jesus, not the things you currently have or what you wish you had. 

Take your joy or lack of joy to Jesus and hear what He says of you. You are more than what you have or do not have. Your joy is in Jesus. Make room for Him this Christmas. Make room for Him every day as you live in the in-between.