The daily grind of life is full of challenges, many of which look like skyscrapers. Isn’t it true that some mornings you wake up full of energy and ready for the upcoming day while other days you wish you could pull the covers back up over your head and just lie in the safety and warmth of our bed? And some days you feel ready to leap tall buildings in a single bound while other days it is as if you’ve slammed into the side of the building.

As we go through this season of Advent, the weeks leading up to Christmas, we expectantly anticipate the coming of the Messiah. It is a season of great hope, of expectation, and of waiting for the presence of Immanuel, God with us. It is also a season of added stress. And for many, a season of loneliness and despair. With so much going on, often this season, while at times joyful, also feels and looks like much a 60-story building.  

I offer these five verses to you as encouragement, as hope, as expectation, that regardless of what comes your way today, you can be assured that God is with you, and He is able to help you go through, go around, or go over a tall building.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:30

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1

On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:3

And how about a few verses inviting you to a place of rest.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

I sure do need these verses. How about you? Thank you, Jesus, for giving me rest and also strength to leap tall buildings!

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This time of year, in public spaces everywhere, you will likely find a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with neatly wrapped boxes underneath. There is one problem with many of those boxes. While they look pretty on the outside, they are simply empty boxes, wrapped in colorful paper, topped with ribbon and bows.

Oftentimes our lives are the same way – we look all pretty on the outside, but on the inside, an entirely different story. We are busy and productive, festive and smiling, saying and doing all the right things, but inside that beautifully decorated box, there is an emptiness, a darkness, a loneliness. Nothing more than wadded up tissue paper. Something is missing.     

The word Advent means “coming,” and it is during Advent, the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that we expectantly await the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet foretells that a virgin will give birth to a son and call him Immanuel. In Matthew’s telling of the birth of Jesus (1:18-25), we find – “’She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

It is God dwelling with us that can turn emptiness into fullness, dullness into vibrancy, barren into lush. It is absolutely true that Jesus came to cleanse us of our sins and to restore our relationship with God, a relationship broken by sin. It is also just as true that in Jesus, God with us, your dry and parched soul can find refreshment (read John 4:1-26), and your emptiness can be filled. In John 10:10 we find these words of Jesus – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

It is important to note that “abundant” does not mean filled with all your wants and desires. Rather, it means an abounding fullness of joy, a peace knowing that God is with you, meeting your every need. An abundant life comes from following in God’s ways; being obedient and living in accordance with His will.

So, this Christmas Season, this Advent Season, make it a priority to purposefully and expectantly await the coming of the One who fill your empty gift box: Immanuel, God with us!

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Close your eyes for a minute and picture yourself walking through a beautiful garden full of spectacularly colored flowers, along a deserted beach as the waves lap at your feet, or through the rainforest in Brazil with its magnificent array of color. Maybe you’ve vacationed in the Caribbean and been captivated by the crystal clear blue water and stunning white beaches. Or it could be you have visited New York City during the Christmas Season, with all its spectacular lights and pageantry. Regardless of the location, we humans enjoy beautiful scenery or landscapes. Psychologists state that we experience a positive mental effect or sensation when we see beautiful scenery and landscapes. We often describe those moments as breathtaking or “it took my breath away.”

There is also something about mountains, with their lush foothills, snow-capped peaks, and spectacular views that is breathtaking. In between mountains are valleys; that low area formed by erosion of the land by a river or stream. Valleys are often picturesque, but we sometimes miss their beauty due to the grandeur of the mountains that surround them.

Life’s journey is often described using mountain and valley language. When something has given us joy or excitement we say “I’ve had a mountaintop experience” and when the opposite occurs, we find ourselves “in the valley.” We want to walk on the mountaintops, but want nothing to do with the valleys.

It is in those moments when we find ourselves in the valley that God does His best work. We tend to cry out to God when we are looking up at the big looming mountains more so than when we stand on the top of the hill looking down at what is below. I have been there, and, be honest, so have you. Maybe you are there right now.

We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops. We learn more about ourselves and we learn more about God. And even though you might not always be able to see God in the valley, He is there. When the resurrected Jesus spoke to His disciples in what is known as the Great Commission, His final words to them, and to you today, were – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

These words from Psalm 23:4 are often used at funerals, but they convey so much more than God’s presence and comfort when someone dies – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” David is speaking of some sort of fearful experience. The valley language infers that David feels boxed in, surrounded, restricted in some way. The shadow of death is not death itself, but rather, this shadow is casting some fearful outline across David’s path. But notice what David says, because of the shepherd’s presence and under the shepherd’s leading, he will walk through this valley. He is not destined to permanently remain in this valley.       

So, today, in the midst of the whether the scenery you are looking at is stunning and spectacular, or all you see are the sides of mountains that seem to rise to insurmountable heights, hear these words found in Deuteronomy 31:8, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

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