“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7
In a few days, much of the world will celebrate Christmas. For many this holiday has no meaning as they are either unaware of or opposed to faith in Christ. For others who are vaguely aware of Christ’s incarnation, it is a time to focus on fellowship and gifts, but has no soul altering significance. However, for those of us who have encountered God, accepted His invitation, and understand the background of Christ’s incarnation, there is depth to the celebration that comes from understanding. We know and have experienced the love, joy, peace and hope that demands jubilation and worship. As we move from Advent to Christmas day, we transition from introspection and meditation to worship. Hopefully it is joyful unbridled worship of our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace for who He is and what He has accomplished for us.
Once again, I recognize that many of us must rise above our circumstances to worship our King. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed Christmas without a fair amount of effort. The pain and fatigue of my body, the energy expended to prepare for the celebration as well as the stress associated with deciding between what I want to do and what I can actually accomplish weigh on my mind and body. In an attempt to achieve, my soul is often left lacking the spiritual food that it needs. Layered upon those issues are my concerns for others who struggle at this time for various reasons.
Whether our pain is physical, emotional, spiritual or some combination, it may take effort to lift our souls to worship our Savior, but worship we must for the sake of our Lord, for the sake of our souls, for the sake of our testimony to others and finally to the glory of the Father. We do this not of our own strength or will, but rather through the sustaining grace of our Emmanuel…God with us. We lift our souls in thanksgiving and praise knowing that Christ is our Mighty God; that He is our Everlasting Father; that in all circumstances He is our Wonderful Counselor and that in our submission to Him, He becomes our Prince of Peace.
Whether or not we struggle this time of year, a good starting point for our worship is Psalm 98.
O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done wonderful things,
His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout joyfully before the King, the Lord.Let the sea roar and all it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
Let the mountains sing together for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with equity.
The shepherds, Simeon, Anna and the Magi thanked God and worshiped Jesus as the King of Kings for who He was and what He would accomplish during His stay on Earth. Since that time, people continue to worship the King of Kings, but also glorify God for what Jesus accomplished through His life, death, resurrection and ascension. However, we still wait with hope for His glorious return as proclaimed at the end of this Psalm. But we anticipate with confident hope that the remainder of God’s promises will be fulfilled. Isaiah’s words begin with the birth of a child but end with the establishment of a kingdom that will last forever. Our celebration should echo those thoughts as we cannot fully celebrate Christ’s birth without consideration of all He has already accomplished as well as will do when He comes again.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.
Have a joyful and blessed Christmas,
Will