Lord Jesus,
We grieve. We ache. We long. We cry. It’s a sad Christmas time for many of those reading this.
The Advent and Christmas season often makes us feel more sorrowful because every song, every tradition, and every celebration suddenly seems distant from us, blocked from us. Like we’re outsiders. How can we enter? How can we take part? Help us acknowledge our sad Christmas time, while continuing to unwrap Your gospel gift that we remember at Christmas.
Please give us songs to sing of Your incarnation that shine Your compassionate and merciful comfort to our hurting hearts. Songs that stir our hearts to worship You amid cold, dark, tear-filled moments that spring up from nowhere.
Lo, how a rose e’er blooming
from tender stem hath sprung,
of Jesse’s lineage coming,
as men of old have sung.
(German, 15th c., p.d.)
It came, a flow’ret bright,
amid the cold of winter,
when half-spent was the night.
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 (Is. 9:6 ESV).
Bloom in my heart as I behold Your saving love to me, within this sad Christmas time
Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
the rose I have in mind;
with Mary we behold it,
the virgin mother kind.
For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Lk. 2:11 ESV).
To show God’s love aright,
she bore to men a Savior,
when half-spent was the night.
Lord of glory, Jesus Christ, help me to see Your glory
The shepherds heard the story,
proclaimed by angels bright,
how Christ, the Lord of glory,
was born on earth this night.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14 ESV).
To Bethlehem they sped
and in the manger found him,
as angel heralds said.
Jesus, shine into my heart each day of this sad Christmas season
This flow’r, whose fragrance tender
with sweetness fills the air,
dispels with glorious splendor
the darkness ev’rywhere.
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6 ESV).
True man, yet very God;
from sin and death he saves us
and lightens ev’ry load.
As I bring every woe to You, King of glory, my beloved and beautiful Savior, shine Your hope into my grief
O Savior, child of Mary,
who felt our human woe…
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not (Is. 53:3 ESV).
O Savior, King of glory,
who dost our weakness know…
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9 ESV).
bring us at length, we pray,
to the bright courts of heaven
and to the endless day.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious (Is. 11:10 ESV).
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light,
and its lamp is the Lamb.
By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—
and there will be no night there (Rev. 21:22-25 ESV).
Thank You, Jesus. In Your blessed and glorious name, Man of Sorrows, King of glory, root of Jesse, my beloved Savior, amen.
A playlist gift to sing into our sad Christmas time
You may be grieving a variety of ongoing losses as I am. You may mourn a loss from years ago that somehow feels suddenly different this year. You may be living today with “anticipatory grief” because of past sadness at Christmas time. This week’s playlist gift, a lament Christmas music gift, helps us to tell our Lord about the pain, ask Him for help, and re-see our glorious, incarnated Savior with our very real hope that He is with us in our pain now and that we will one day see Him as He is.
I’m praying that it will be His gift to you in this sad Christmas, sister in Christ. Sign up below if you’d like to receive it in your email.
To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, or Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.
For Scripture devotionals, calming hymns, and encouragement from Lauri, click here for YouTube channel
For those with chronic illness, pain, anxiety, or depression, here’s a music therapy-inspired podcast of Scripture and hymns to help ease symptoms
