Christmas Sadness: 5 Insights for Hope and Comfort
Snow falls heavily, and I’m alone with only my thoughts and the whisper of flakes falling in the forest. As I sit beneath the hemlocks, I’m reminded of a season years ago when Christmas sadness threatened to consume me. Everyone in the world seemed to be celebrating while I felt dismal and alone.
It can be challenging to know where to turn when Christmas is hard instead of celebratory.
Navigating Christmas Sadness
Our difficult Christmas came after a year filled with illness, disappointment, and deep grief. We’d just watched a lifelong dream fall apart, and we weren’t sure where to turn next. We were grieving, and we were having a hard time embracing the Christmas season.
Maybe you’ve walked through a similar season. Maybe it was a long time ago, or you might feel like the only person who is struggling at Christmas this year.
Hope and Comfort for Christmas Sadness
If this is you, I gently encourage you to hold onto hope.
God hasn’t left you. He promises to be with you always (Deut. 31:6). He promises that nothing can ever take his love from you (Romans 8:38-39). If you need encouragement this Christmas, here are five truths to give you comfort and hope. I invite you to read to the end of today’s post for a free Advent devotional to lift your head this Christmas.
1. God is still with you and will never abandon you.
At times in my life, grief was so thick that I wondered if God had forsaken me.
If you can relate, hold onto this truth: God promises never to abandon his children (Hebrews 13:5). He will never leave you.
More than just being with you, God sings over you in your darkest hour (Zephaniah 3:17). He wants to comfort you with his love. He loves you more than you’ve ever been loved by another person.
Every time I pause to consider the words of Zephaniah 3:17, which declares that God sings over us, I think of the way I comforted our children when they were younger. I scooped them up, held them in my arms, and sang over them.
God sings over us in a similar, loving way. He invites us to draw near to him and receive his comfort.
2. God is lovingly looking for ways to draw you deeper into his love.
No passage of Scripture stirs my heart more than the words of Hosea 2:14.
After warning his people to turn away from their sins, God speaks these words through the prophet Hosea: “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14).
God is looking for a way to allure you—to woo you—and draw you to himself. He is pursuing you.
You might feel all alone. Amid these feelings, plant your feet on the solid foundation of God’s love: You are never alone. Your heavenly Father is pursuing you.
If this feels untrue to you, stand on the truth of the unchanging character of our God. The same God who pursued his people thousands of years ago is pursuing you at this very moment. He is pursuing you through the words of this blog post. He might pursue you through caring friends or loved ones who check in with you. You are dearly loved, and God will never stop pursuing you.
3. When Christmas sadness threatens to consume you, Jesus weeps with you.
When Jesus died on the cross, he took the punishment for our sins. He also carried our sorrows. He experienced the weight of the sorrows of the world.
Our Lord knows about sorrow, and he has a compassionate heart.
Jesus counts our tears in a bottle. He also weeps with us. We see this compassionate spirit as Jesus weeps with Martha and Mary after the death of their brother, Lazarus (John 11:35).
Your tears do not go unnoticed by the Lord. Jesus is not far off when you are in pain; he weeps with you.
Your tears do not go unnoticed by the Lord. Jesus is not far off when you are in pain; he weeps with you. #hope #faith #Jesus Share on X
4. God is tenderly giving you everything you need to endure this season.
Even if you cannot see it now, God is providing you with everything you need to endure.
Our idea of provision does not always match God’s idea, but he promises to give us all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
If you don’t feel or see his provision today, make the declaration, by faith, to believe that God will withhold no good thing from you.
Years ago, when I was suffering through a dark Christmas, I could see very few signs of God’s provision. Yet when I reached the other side of the darkness, months later, God showed me that he had been providing for me all along.
The same is true for you. You might not see signs of God’s hand upon your life. Nevertheless, choose to believe that he will give you everything you need to endure this season.
5. God is shaping your heart to look more like his heart.
I’ve always been intrigued by the second part of Psalm 23.
When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it’s hard to see how God is simultaneously preparing a table before us and filling us to overflowing.
When the valley is dark, it doesn’t feel like anything in the world is overflowing.
Trust in the promise that God is transforming you into the image of Christ as you walk through this valley. He is filling you to overflowing because when you emerge from this sadness, you will look more like Jesus.
God will use this time to deepen your capacities for empathy and compassion. As these capacities increase, you will be better equipped to carry the love of God to the world around you. We never suffer pointlessly, even when it feels that way. God uses our suffering to deepen us and help us become more mature, more like him.
Meaningful Christmas Gifts for Parents and Children
Before I share the link to this free Advent devotional, I invite you to consider gifting one of our children’s devotional books to a family you care about this year. As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Your Free Advent Devotional Right Here:
Still My Soul will help you create space to connect with God in meaningful ways as you prepare your heart to celebrate the birth of Christ this month. Every day of Advent, you will be gently invited to slow down and cultivate gratitude instead of stress. Get your eBook for free right here with promo code STILL. Be blessed as you seek the King and celebrate his birth!
