Our Daily Bread 6 December 2018 Devotional
Topic: Lonely Christmas
Read: Psalm 25:14–22
Bible in a Year: Daniel 3–4; 1 John 5
My eyes are ever on the Lord. Psalm 25:15
Message: The loneliest Christmas I ever spent was in my grandfather’s cottage near Sakogu, northern Ghana. I was just fifteen, and my parents and siblings were a thousand kilometers away. In previous years, when I’d been with them and my village friends, Christmas was always big and memorable. But this Christmas was quiet and lonely. As I lay on my floor mat early Christmas morning, I remembered a local song: The year has ended; Christmas has come; the Son of God is born; peace and joy to everybody. Mournfully, I sang it over and over.
My grandmother came and asked, “What song is that?” My grandparents didn’t know about Christmas—or about Christ. So I shared what I knew about Christmas with them. Those moments brightened my loneliness.
Our Daily Bread 6 December 2018 Devotional – Lonely Christmas
Alone in the fields with only sheep and occasional predators, the shepherd boy David experienced loneliness. It would not be the only time. Later in his life he wrote, “I am lonely and afflicted” (Psalm 25:16). But David didn’t allow loneliness to cause him to be despondent. Instead, he sang: “My hope, Lord, is in you” (v. 21).
From time to time we all face loneliness. Wherever Christmas may find you this year, in loneliness or in companionship, you can enjoy the season with Christ.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that with You I’m not alone even in my times of loneliness. This Christmas, help me to enjoy my fellowship with You and to reach out to others.
Thought for the Day: With Jesus at Christmas, we’re never alone.
INSIGHT
Psalm 25 is a prayer for and celebration of God’s guidance—extended to anyone willing to humbly learn from Him (vv. 5, 8–9, 12). Even the structure of this psalm as an acrostic poem (each line sequentially following the Hebrew alphabet) reinforces this emphasis on learning from God, since the structure was often chosen for its helpfulness in memorization.
The psalm’s theme of worship as a lifestyle of learning from God is also captured by the words “put my trust” in verse 1—more literally, “lift up my soul” (nrsv; “soul” referring to all of oneself, both body and spirit). The image, alluding to the worship posture of uplifted hands, offers a beautiful picture of walking with God: we honestly lift up before Him all of ourselves and our struggles, while continually waiting with open, trusting hands to receive all we need from our loving, gracious God (vv. 15–18, 20–21). – Monica Brands
Our Daily Bread 6 December 2018 Devotional was written by Lawrence Darmani