Battling Holiday Worries

Reluctance sets up home in my heart every year when my mom asks who wants to host Christmas. My mind immediately conjures an image of the stove billowing smoke and a ruined turkey. And in an instant, my anxiety wipes from my mind the reason for the season, to celebrate the birth of salvation.

It’s because of thoughts like this that I ask myself, “How do I battle the worries of the holiday season?” In Luke 2, I find answers in the reactions of Simeon, Anna, and Mary. The story began when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for purification rites.

When Simeon saw the child, he reveled in God’s promise fulfilled to him—to see the Messiah before Simeon’s death—and God’s promise of salvation. The prophet Anna, in her joy of meeting the child, thanked God and spread the news of the child and the redemption he’d bring to Jerusalem. And Mary, Jesus’ mother, treasured and pondered these revelations about her child.

We can apply their reactions to our own lives to fight our holiday anxieties. Hosting a holiday meal? Remember, as Simeon did, God’s promises fulfilled for us and the salvation he “has prepared in the sight of all nations” (Luke 2:31). Feeling the financial pressure of gift giving? Share about Jesus to experience joy like Anna’s. Family dynamics? Treasure the message of salvation and ponder God’s wonders.

These worries, and others such as overcommitment and loneliness, have a way of wiping the celebration of salvation from our minds. Reading Luke 2 during this stressful time reminds us of the reason for our celebration: that salvation began as a baby and grew into a man who “was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him” (Luke 2:40). Now that’s a revelation to remember this Christmas and beyond!

God, thank you for sending your son for my salvation and for the examples of biblical people to guide my reactions. May I experience peace and joy rather than holiday stressors as I celebrate the birth of salvation.

Throughout This Day: Make a list of God’s wonders in your life from this past year. Pray over these to put them at the forefront of your mind.