Strengthened by the Lord

If you have listened to my podcast on Preparing Hearts for Christmas, or if you have followed either of my blogs, you know that we do a lot during the Advent season in our home. We have the wreath, we do multiple advent calendars, we sing Christmas songs every night, we have a Jesse tree, we color appropriate pictures, we have special activities, we read The Advent Book and we do a nightly devotional.

Today was the big day for everything to start, but I had a hard time gearing up for it! The past month has brought a season of grief and stress for me, and to top it off, we’ve all been very sick this week, including me. I found it harder than usual to arrange for all that we usually do.

So tonight we kept it simple. We lit a candle on the wreath (a white candle, because I haven’t had the time or energy to track down pink and purple this year). We sang one song and we read the Bible. And the Lord fed us.

It was a powerful reminder to me. We enjoy the wreath and the books and the Jesse tree and the special songs…but those are not the heart of our Advent season worship. The heart of our family worship is that we are spending time with the Lord, every night, no matter what state we are in.

I did not come tonight like a Wise Man, bearing gifts. I came like a beggar, looking to be fed and as one in the desert, needing water. And that is exactly what I found, because His Word never returns void.

We are still slowly making our way through the entire Bible. Tonight we finished up the book of 1 Samuel. As we were reading, one verse stood out to me:

“David was greatly distressed…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6

This was the very word my heart needed tonight. Like David, I am learning to look to the Lord to find strength and comfort.

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63: 1-8

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