Rejoice
Greatly
There have been
a lot of things in the news lately that is depressing and we can wonder why God
allows such evil things to happen? Many people are suffering the loss of a
loved one because of terrorist acts in many parts of the world. Poverty,
sickness, hate, and hunger are all around. It is easy to give in to these
negative feelings and lose hope that we can find joy.
This is the time
of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ it is a time of
happiness and joy. Satan is trying his best to destroy the joy of Christmas, and
replace hope with despair; but we need to remember the scripture that tells us
to “rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:
behold, thy King cometh” (Zachariah 9:9). We
are the ones that determine how we feel. We must choose joy and hope over despair
and hate. The prophet Isaiah wrote of the Savior’s birth when he said:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
Christ is the
Prince of Peace and he promises that he will give us his peace if we seek it.
We do not need to be afraid of all that is going on in the world. If we seek
the Christ child, we will find peace.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not
as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
One of the best
ways we can find peace and joy is through service. Especially at this time of
the year we need to follow the Savior’s example and serve. There are many
opportunities to serve all around us. As we walk from store to store from work
to our cars, wherever we go we can find those that might need a hug, a smile, a
kind word, or someone to talk to. Be the person they are looking for. Even if
we are the one that needs these things, if we will do something for someone
else we will find our own sorrows and difficulties vanish away.
We have all seen
the person standing on the corner with a sign saying they need some kind of
help. Sometimes it is hard to know if they really need help or not. But there
are many others that need help in one way or another that don’t carry a sign
for all to see. They hid in plain sight the hurt, the depression, the loneliness
that they are feeling. They may even go through the day with a smile for others
that they meet but inside are screaming out for help. If we pray each day to
have the prompting come when we meet someone that needs us, the promptings will
come and when the spirit prompts follow it.
If we follow the
Savior’s example of going about doing good, we will have the spirit of
Christmas with us throughout the season and all year long. As we do this we will experience the joy of that holy night as never before.
Tiffany Alvord - O, Holy Night
It is my hope that you will rejoice greatly in the love that our Savior Jesus Christ has for us and that we will share that love with others that we meet as we go about our labors each day.
Your comments and questions are welcome.
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