After The Lights Have Faded

Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.  Hosea 6:3

The week after Christmas is coming to an end.  Have you taken down your Christmas tree?  What does the week after Christmas look like in your life? Is it a time of reflection or a time a renewal?  Do you move on quickly or do you hang on to that Christmas spirit as long as you can?

I love the Christmas season and all it involves, but on December 26th, I am ready to move on.  The decorations get packed back up and taken to the attic and the house gets cleaned and restored to its less festive, everyday decor. I am now needing to take some time to rest, refocus and renew.

On the seventh day, God completed His work and rested. We refer to this day of rest as the Sabbath. He created this time for us for a reason. A Sabbath rest for us to reflect upon our week or in this case the season we just completed.  In the book “Breath” by Priscilla Shirer, she has this to say about Sabbath rest: “The Sabbath day wasn’t the Sabbath day until God made it so…The purpose of the day was not to put up His proverbial feet, take a load off, and chill out after creating the universe in the previous days. He wasn’t tired. He was expressing satisfaction…Rest was the capstone of creation.”

Shabbat is the Hebrew word for Sabbath. It means “to come to an end, to cease, to stop, to pause.”

This “between” week is a great time to take a pause before rushing into the new year. To take time expressing our satisfaction in the season of Advent we just celebrated. To press into, not abort, our acknowledgment of Jesus in the manger and all that implies for our upcoming year. I love this quiet week to press into God’s continued, constant, and steadfast presence that shows up to water our hunger for more of Him.

So, after the lights have faded, the Christmas carols have been sung, and the eggnog drank, lets take a minute to acknowledge the Lord with an attitude of tranquility, serenity, peace and repose. Let’s sing “Oh come let us adore Him” one more time as we tuck that melody into our hearts so we can hum it all year long.

Heavenly Father, before we get sucked back into the business of a new year and refreshed routines, we take a moment to honor and acknowledge you as we look back on this Christmas season in satisfaction. We move on now refocused on your words, your truths and your ways.  Amen