Called to Comfort
By Anthony Casperson
11-25-23
‘Tis the season…for many people to experience depression.
It doesn’t help when so many join the “happy police” for the next month or so. They expect smiles on every face. And there’s absolutely no room for anything other than comfort and joy—by which they mean that we should all act like that everything’s okay and pretend to be happy, especially when it’s not true. They don’t want anyone to bring down the mood during the holiday season, so they monitor any ounce of sadness. And reprimand even the most minor of infractions.
So, to counteract this tendency—and give us all the freedom to experience our honest emotional states—I always take the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to remind us that it’s okay to feel down during the end of the year, despite the near-hypnotic pulse of lights and sounds that force happiness down our throats. We don’t have to beat ourselves up for not being “in the spirit of the holiday.” It’s not like there’s something wrong with us just because we’re in a depressionary mood during the “wrong” time of year.
As a matter of fact, there are quite a few passages of the bible that point to the first coming of Jesus which speak to the less-than-happy side of this season’s comfort and joy. And the “happy police” aren’t gonna stop me from sharing this part of our Savior’s birth.
One of these passages is found in Isaiah 49. Not far from the fan favorite in chapters 52-53, this less-familiar passage also speaks to the coming of the Servant of the Lord. And it reminds us that our Savior understands the place of lowliness and affliction.
In the first seven verses of the passage, we see the Servant of the Lord speak to his labor being done in vain, and his strength all used up in the work. But even in the midst of this difficulty, his faith remains strong in God. And so God empowers those reserves to reach beyond the mere raising of Israel, to also include the rest of the world.
It might seem like the coming of the Servant will accomplish nothing, but because of his faithful joining with God for his divine work, much more than ever thought possible will come to be. The humble and low-esteemed present circumstances don’t dictate the end result when we work with God. As a matter of fact, the Servant—who I’ll remind us is Jesus here—will have kings come to hear his wisdom and princes bow down before him in worship.
Jesus understands the difficulties of life because he’s experienced similar situations. And so when he promises us comfort and joy in his coming, it’s not with a forced smile and fake happiness.
Faithfulness to God as he comforts us, despite the difficulties of life, is the joy of the season.
We have someone to run to in our distress that won’t berate us for it. We can go to him without fear that all we’ll get is an eye roll or a lecture about holiday cheer. He’s there ready to listen, to speak when we need it, and to offer a hand if we want to take it.
Later on, in verse 13 of Isaiah 49, the passage says that the Lord has comforted his people and has compassion on the afflicted. This comfort isn’t necessarily removal from the difficulties, but it is the overflowing of God’s grace in the midst of them. (Also, this verse doesn’t mean that God’s compassion is only on the afflicted, but rather that it is especially for those often overlooked. Don’t weaponize God’s comfort to exclude people that he included.)
As the passage continues, God’s compassion is equated to the love of a mother with her child held in her arms. He’ll never forget his comfort of us. It’s like we’ve been engraved on his hands. We’re always close to him.
This is a truth that we can wear like a piece of jewelry given to a bride by her husband. We should cherish this ornament of his love. Not that we’ll always be brought out of the problems of the world, but that even in the midst of them, we can run to him for comfort. Find our joy in his work, despite the circumstances.
So this year, when we hear people speak or sing about comfort and joy, let’s not think about plastering on fake smiles or pretending to be happy. Instead, let’s see the compassion of God who smiles at us even when we can only look back with the ugliest of crying faces.
Our comfort and joy isn’t found in forced hypocrisy, but in faithfulness to God despite the circumstances of our life.
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