The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. Isaiah 9:2 NLT

Have you ever tried to celebrate Christmas while you were going through a painful season of life? Perhaps things were so dark you literally felt like you were under the shadow of death? In Corrie Ten Boom’s book, Corrie’s Christmas Memories, she recalls a Christmas she spent in Ravensbruck, a concentration camp she was sent to for helping hide Jews during World War II. Her sister, Betsie, had died only 11 days earlier. The day after Betsie passed, Corrie discovered she was released. In order to leave, though, Corrie needed a declaration of health from the camp doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor diagnosed her with edema, and he sent her to recover in the hospital barracks. Corrie describes that agonizing Christmas:

Dark it was in my heart, and darkness was around me… I tried to talk to the people around me about Christmas, but they mocked, ridiculed, and sneered at whatever I said.

In the middle of that lonely Christmas night, Corrie recalled hearing a “feeble-minded” girl in a bed near her calling out, “Mommy! Come to Oelie. Oelie feels so alone.” Knowing the girl’s mother could not go to Oelie, Corrie got up from her bed to comfort her. As a dim light shined through the window next to Oelie’s bed, Corrie could see that even though the girl was reduced to skin and bones, she still had a “sweet face, beautiful eyes and wavy hair.” Recovering from an operation, the incision on Oelie’s back was covered in nothing but a makeshift bandage of toilet paper. Corrie recalls what happened next:

That night I told this poor child about Jesus. How He came into the world as a little baby—how He came to save us from our sins.

“The Lord Jesus loves Oelie and has borne her punishment on the cross. Now Oelie may go to heaven, and Jesus is there right now. He is getting a little house ready for Oelie.” Later I asked her what she remembered of what I told her.

“What is the little house like?” I asked.

“It is very beautiful. There are no wicked people as in Ravensbruck—only good people and angels. And Oelie will see Jesus there.”

The child added, “I will ask Jesus to make me brave when I have pain. I will think of the pain that Jesus suffered to show Oelie the way to heaven.” Then Oelie folded her hands; together we gave thanks.

Then I knew why I had to spend this Christmas in Ravensbruck in 1944.
(excerpts from Corrie’s Christmas Memories, chapter 4, pages 56-57)

Jesus said, “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark” (John 12:46). I love how Jesus met Corrie and Oelie in the hospital barracks of Ravensbruck, bringing love and light to one of the most horrific death camps in Germany.

If you are facing gloom, despair or darkness this Christmas, take heart. Just as Corrie found purpose in her pain, you can also ask Jesus, the “great light” of Christmas, to bring beauty and hope into your circumstances.

There is something about this season that makes me think of childlike faith.

No one fully revels in the Christmas season like a child. They have the faith to believe that they will receive the pony they crave or the ridiculously expensive Lego set. They are unstoppable!

There are likely endless articles that you could read about childlike faith. I’m not touching on something that we are unfamiliar with. The concept is written about in the Bible (Matthew 18:3, Mark 10:14-15, Luke 18:7) and is taught in churches across the globe. But how about if, this year, we stopped amidst the information overflow and considered something a little deeper than childlike faith?

What about wonder?

A close friend has recently given birth to a beautiful baby boy and he is just perfect. He has a cute button nose and soft baby skin. He’s amazing. I can completely grasp the concept of ‘baby-gazing’ (where you spend hours simply staring at a newborn baby!)

However, the thing that struck me most when holding my friend’s newborn baby was how his eyes sparkled in the glow of the fairy lights in my home. Now, I know that his vision has not necessarily developed enough to be able to see the lights clearly, but there was something about the motion of the pulsing lights that drew his attention and he was undoubtedly gazing at the gentle warmth of the fairy lights.

A child has a sense of wonder that I believe we can lose as adults.

We are surrounded every day by miracles. The very fact that you exist is a miracle! How can we become so familiar with such wonderful realities?

I’m not suggesting that we should walk around with our mouths permanently wide open because of the wonder that surrounds us but, at this time of year, in particular, I think it is fitting to pause and remember wonder.

What makes you say ‘wow’?

Is it the thought of the seemingly endless galaxy we live in?

Is it a newborn baby?

Is it a beautiful bride in her crisp white gown and veil?

For me, it’s the sea. Whenever I’m near the sea I get a sense of wonder. I think it’s because of its sheer magnitude. And depth. The thought of being placed in the very middle of the vast ocean is enough to have me breathing very heavily!

The sea can give you a sense of perspective that few other natural phenomena can. It puts your size, frailty, and mortality into harsh reality.

Perhaps there is room for considering the wonder of Christmas again this year.

There is a song by Bethel music that has the most captivating lyrics around the concept of wonder. It speaks of never losing our wonder and uses the words “Wide-eyed and mystified” in describing it.

Wide-eyed and mystified.

Wow.

It’s no problem if some things confuse us due to their grandeur. It’s beautiful! God’s ways are higher than ours, His thoughts infinitely beyond our own.

This Christmas, I encourage you to take out your Bible (I would advise a paper Bible so that you’re not distracted by your phone alerts!) and turn to one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth.

Allow the immaculate conception, the remarkable birth, and the subsequent celebration to wash over you anew. Allow salvation and eternity to puzzle you and be encouraged by thoughts of Heaven.

I pray that we never lose our sense of wonder and that, this Christmastime, we each find something new to marvel at. Bless you.

Streams in the Desert – December 17

• 2022 17 Dec

Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this. —1 Thess 5:23-24

Many years since I saw that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” I began by following after it and inciting all with whom I had intercourse to do the same. Ten years after, God gave me a clearer view than I ever had before of the way to obtain it; namely, by faith in the Son of God. And immediately I declared to all, “We are saved from sin, we are made holy by faith.” This I testified in private, in public, and in print, and God confirmed it by a thousand witnesses. I have continued to declare this for above thirty years, and God has continued to confirm my work.
—John Wesley in 1771

“I knew Jesus, and He was very precious to my soul; but I found something in me that would not keep sweet and patient and kind. I did what I could to keep it down, but it was there. I besought Jesus to do something for me, and, when I gave Him my will, He came to my heart, and took out all that would not be sweet, all that would not be kind, all that would not be patient, and then HE shut the door.”
—George Fox

My whole heart has not one single grain, this moment, of thirst after approbation. I feel alone with God; He fills the void; I have not one wish, one will, one desire, but in Him; He hath set my feet in a large room. I have wondered and stood amazed that God should make a conquest of all within me by love.
—Lady Huntington

“All at once I felt as though a hand—not feeble, but omnipotent; not of wrath, but of love—was laid on my brow. I felt it not outwardly but inwardly. It seemed to press upon my whole being, and to diffuse all through me a holy, sin-consuming energy. As it passed downward, my heart as well as my head was conscious of the presence of this soul-cleansing energy, under the influence of which I fell to the floor, and in the joyful surprise of the moment, cried out in a loud voice. Still the hand of power wrought without and within; and wherever it moved, it seemed to leave the glorious influence of the Saviour’s image. For a few minutes the deep ocean of God’s love swallowed me up; all its waves and billows rolled over me.”
—Bishop Hamline

Recently, the whole world began to recover from the repercussions of a pandemic that had profound consequences. Now, instead of hearing about hopeful situations, we are faced with rumors of economic recession and conflicts that damage the nations.

All of this coincides perfectly with Revelation 6, concerning the absence of peace, of epidemics and famine, and even the accelerated increase in prices that should be expected in the end times. The chapter concludes with some verses that clarify that neither wealth, military power, nor social influence can be enough to win in these situations.

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” Revelation 6:15-17 NIV

Given this, it is natural to question ourselves about where to find hope and how to transmit it to others who suffer. While the conditions of this world do not seem to improve, we cannot always promise those who face the most complex crises that their conditions are going to be different soon.

However, considering that our role in this world will continue to be that of bringing light in the midst of darkness, we cannot give up on the task of bringing hope to others. We must refocus our efforts to lead those who suffer to a truth that can fill their hearts with peace and generate confidence for a better future.

Together with an international team from Operation Blessing, I have had the opportunity to be part of recent projects on the border area between Poland and Ukraine that provide help to those most affected by the war. It is precisely in these scenarios that we realize our hope cannot rest on temporary things. Temporary things can easily disappear before your eyes, as millions of Ukrainians today have seen their stable jobs, their homes, their families, or even their dreams disappear.

The book of Romans, in chapter 8, reminds us that suffering is part of this world, and that even Jesus suffered during His passage through this Earth. But at the same time, it fills us with hope by reminding us of what His promise is for those who put their trust in Him.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17-18 NIV

If you are experiencing a season of deep pain, and suffering is the daily reality in which you live, I remind you that these scenarios are a perfect opportunity to get closer to Jesus and to get to know Him in a more personal way. He fully understands your pain. He will accompany you in your suffering—and He is the only One who can give you access to the truth of a better future and eternal life with him.

Let us pray… Father God, through Your Son, Jesus, and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, we thank You for helping us in our time of need. We thank You that You are a good, good Father who watches over us all the time, including in difficult and challenging seasons. Reveal to us that You are right beside us, walking us through to better days, both on this earth and later with You in heaven. Remind us how much You love us and that Your Word (Hebrews 13:5) promises us You will never leave us, never forsake us. Amen!

Today’s Devotions

December 15

Jeremiah 20:8-9,11 ⁸Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. ⁹But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

¹¹But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.

Jeremiah complained that God didn’t tell him all that he was getting into when he was called to be a prophet. God never tells us everything upfront, for that wouldn’t be good for us. God will tell us what we are able to hear when we are able to hear it.

Jeremiah was proclaiming a message among people who hated what he had to say. This made him the object of mockery and scorn. There were even plots to assassinate him. Jeremiah wanted to quit speaking God’s words. There was one problem. The word was in his heart like a fire. If he tried to hold it in, it would weary him with effort. He just couldn’t keep quiet.

Jeremiah was proclaiming destruction and misery, but we have the words of life to proclaim. How blessed we are that our message is one of hope and salvation. Yet it is also a message of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In that sense it is like Jeremiah’s message. We are preaching the need to surrender. People will mock and scorn us as they did Jeremiah, because they do not want to change their ways. We may want to quit speaking the truth, just as Jeremiah did, but His word is in us like a pent-up fire.

Consider: We have one great consolation. The LORD is with you, reader. He is with you like a mighty warrior.

Streams in the Desert – December 15

• 2022 15 Dec

Trust in the Lord and do what is right! Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! —Ps 37:3

The word trust is the heart word of faith. It is the Old Testament word, the word given to the early and infant stage of faith. The word faith expresses more the act of the will, the word belief the act of the mind or intellect, but trust is the language of the heart. The other has reference more to a truth believed or a thing expected.

Trust implies more than this, it sees and feels, and leans upon a person, a great, true, living heart of love. So let us “trust also in him,” through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, in the face of all the denials, notwithstanding all the seemings, even when we cannot understand the way, and know not the issue; still “trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.” The way will open, the right issue will come, the end will be peace, the cloud will be lifted, and the light of an eternal noonday shall shine at last.

“Trust and rest when all around thee
Puts thy faith to sorest test;
Let no fear or foe confound thee,
Wait for God and trust and rest.

“Trust and rest with heart abiding,
Like a birdling in its nest,
Underneath His feathers hiding,
Fold thy wings and trust and rest.”

Have you ever wanted to turn back time? The truth is, time is something we never get back. Maybe this leaves you feeling regretful or sad about years that have been wasted or time not well spent on the things that really matter. Here is some powerful encouragement for all of us today. God promises that He takes back time!

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you” (Joel 2:25 NIV).

This promise was given to God’s people who had suffered the complete destruction of their harvest through swarms of locusts. For four consecutive years, the harvest had been completely wiped out. God’s people were brought to their knees.

But God had compassion on His people, and in the coming years, there would be an abundance that would make up for what had been lost.

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil (Joel 2:23-24).

This wonderful promise meant that years of abundant harvests would follow the years of desolation brought about by the locusts. And God has put this promise in the Bible for us today, as well.

What do “lost years” look like for us? They can come in many varieties: painful, fruitless, selfish, loveless, rebellious or unproductive. Do you hear what Scripture is telling us? God can restore your lost “locust” years. He does so in a very personal way.

The word restore literally means “comfort and redemption.” The story of Ruth and Boaz illustrates this, and you can read the book of Ruth for the full details. Boaz acts as Ruth’s kinsman redeemer by making a commitment to stand up and champion her as a member of his family. It was a decisive action on his part to pay whatever it cost for Ruth and her family to have freedom, release and restoration.  All the broken years of Ruth’s life were restored through this act of Boaz, who paid the cost and welcomed her into his family.

Do you see it? That’s what Jesus does for us. He sees our broken past, our years that the enemy has stolen from us, and He paid the ultimate cost with His very life so that we can be free, released from the past and restored into a new life—an abundant life!

“You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed” (Joel 2:26-27).

I know this to be true. God brought comfort and redemption to me and my family after years that the enemy had stolen. God gave us Himself, He comforted us, and He is giving us a bountiful harvest that we could never have imagined. He will take what seems like a waste and turn it into something beautiful if we let Him. Our lost years are not lost with God. He is a God that takes back time and turns it into a bumper crop! That is courageous living.

Streams in the Desert – December 14

• 2022 14 Dec

His disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray… and he said unto them, “When ye pray, say… Thy kingdom come” (Luke 11:1-2).

When they said, “Teach us to pray,” the Master lifted His eyes and swept the far horizon of God. He gathered up the ultimate dream of the Eternal, and, rounding the sum of everything God intends to do in the life of man, He packed it all into these three terse pregnant phrases and said, “When you pray, pray after this manner.” What a contrast between this and much praying we have heard.

When we follow the devices of our own hearts, how runs it? “O Lord bless me, then My family, My church, My city, My country,” and away on the far fringe as we close up, there is a prayer for the extension of His Kingdom throughout the wide parish of the world.

The Master begins where we leave off. The world first, my personal needs second, is the order of this prayer. Only after my prayer has crossed every continent and every  far-flung island of the sea, after it has taken in the last man in the last backward race, after it has covered the entire wish and purpose, of God for the world, only then am I taught to ask for a piece of bread for myself.

When Jesus gave His all, Himself for us and to us in the holy extravagance of the Cross, is it too much if He asks us to do the same thing? No man or woman amounts to anything in the kingdom, no soul ever touches even the edge of the zone of power, until this lesson is learned that Christ‘s business is the supreme concern of life and that all personal considerations, however dear or important, are tributary thereto.
–Dr. Francis