GET UP! CHRISTIANS DON'T DO "HOLIDAY BLUES"

This coming Christmas, many will be feeling what we call the ‘Holiday Blues”. Many will feel lonely, down and depressed. But we Christians ought not to be feeling the same. This “Holiday Blues” does not apply to us because our joy is not dependent upon any seasons or situations. Our joy comes from our fellowship with God (1 John 1:3-4; Psalms 21:6). God promised that through His Spirit, we will have constant joy and freedom in our lives (2 Corinthians 3:17) and His joy will continually give us strength (Nehemiah 8:10). However, because we are still in this physical body, sometimes we can easily be tempted or influenced by the flesh to entertain negative thoughts (if we allow them to linger). Our thoughts constantly bombard our mind to succumb to these feelings of inferiority, dissatisfaction, weakness, lack and self pity. But as children of God, we ought not to be living under these kinds of feelings. We ought to be living in the spirit and living victoriously through our God given faith and promises (Romans 1:17, 1 John 5:4). Yes, there are challenges and sufferings in life, but if we are in God, His promise to us is: we will have full deliverance and victory from them all (2 Corinthians 2:14). Yes, occasional feelings of loneliness and depression may come, because as humans with bad habits, we usually focus only in our present situations. We tend to rely only in our own abilities rather than depend on the all powerful God. As children of God, we have the authority and power not to accept these thoughts. We should always remind ourselves of His everlasting promise of hope, and greater future as we abide in Him and His plan (Jeremiah 29:11). If we are in a rut and feeling depressed, we need to realize that our God is always there for us: to save, restore and to bring deliverance. We don’t need to get stuck in these negative thoughts and feelings or even stay in these negative situations, 1 Corinthians 10:13, says, our God will always provide deliverance from all of our tests and trials in life. You see, that is the difference between the people that do not know God, and the children of God - when we encounter any test, trials and tribulations in life, we, his children, were given the promise of victory and hope by our God through it all. That is why, we can still rejoice and be at peace even when we are in the midst of our difficulties.

Another reason why many Christians become down, depressed, and hopeless, not just during Holidays, but in their lives is because they either do not know who they are in Christ or have forgotten who they are through Jesus. Many Christians decided to walk away from their faith. They have given up on their God. They become jealous of what the world has that they began to rationalize why they need to do things on their own way. They began to justify and form their own reasoning. They chose to walk in the flesh looking for some permanent fix, but they will never be met. Many will choose to live a worldly lifestyle as if God do not exist at all. A Christian who knows Christ, yet decides to live a secular life based on the standards of this world, will be more accountable towards his actions, and will receive a far greater judgment (James 4:17, Luke 12:48). A Christian who desires to be accepted by the world rather than be accepted by God is fooling himself. He follows a lifestyle of vanity and lives selfishly, yet he will never be satisfied. He compares his accomplishments and acquisition of things based on what the world view as successful, but as he willfully neglects the plan of God in his life, he denies himself of the only thing that can save him from self destruction or usher him towards God's eternal peace, joy and hope.

Here is another reason why I think Christians become weary and become hopeless in their lives: Some people pray and ask God for a particular thing they desire, but instead of walking by faith, they decide to create a timetable for God to answer their prayers. If they did not get what they prayed within that particular time frame, they become frustrated, and began to depend on their own ability and knowledge. Some become bitter towards God and decides to cut off their fellowship with Him. Their impatience forced them to venture and seek the world for answers. Their lust of worldly things then drives them away from God and his protection – which also drives them away from their divine blessings, guidance and destiny. Unfortunately, many Christians make their own plans in their lives first, then ask God to bless it, rather than depend and seek God's guidance and plan in their lives. These Christians who gauge their lives according to the standards of this world will never be at peace, and will never truly experience the joy of the Lord in their lives. Why? – Because, they will not have the strength of God – the power and anointing that can give them peace and joy in the midst of trouble. Satan will continue to deceive them and make them believe that they are doing just fine because according to the standards of this earth they are “normal”. However, their emptiness inside which was once filled with the spirit of God is now growing and creating a greater void and emptiness within their soul and spirit. The fact is, there is nothing in this earth that can ever fill this void but God. Without God, there is no true and lasting peace and joy. Conversely, they will never attain the blessed and powerful life of God for his children because it is only available to those who seek and walk in his divine plan. Their lives will become nothing but continuous emotional ups and downs, filled with emptiness and with no stability. Ephesians 2:12 says, that without Jesus Christ, we will have no hope. Christians who choose to straddle between God and the world will be unstable in all there ways (James 1:8). That is why Romans 12:2 says Do not conform to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” God wants us to change our thinking towards God’s standard, wisdom and character.

God’s desire for His children is to live a life that is full of joy and peace. But to have this God kind of life, we need to realize who the source of life is - the almighty and powerful God himself. John 10:10 says that his desire for us is not only to have life, but to have an abundant life. That means to live a life that knows no lack and limitation. Abundance includes joy, peace and total wholeness in our being (3 John 2). So, if you are a Christian, begin to know who you are in Christ. But don’t stop there, start claiming what belongs to you through Jesus Christ and begin to live it. Don't give up and become impatient. Stick to his promises and be determined to live his plan for your life. In him we have joy, peace, blessings, protection, healing and victory. So don’t have no “Holiday Blues”, it does not belong to you. Leave that to the world. Get up, stay up and start living in Christ. Jesus was sent to us as a gift that Christmas evening in Bethlehem so that we can have the fullness of God’s life here in earth, (as how he wills for us to live in heaven) Matthew 6:10. This life is the life of victory – the life that knows no limit. So, dear friends, have no “Christmas Blues”, rather let’s keep our fellowship with God and start living in joy, peace and in victory! This holiday season, let us control our thought life and live according to His will, then get ready for a total wholeness in our being: spirit, soul and body. Let us continue to praise and thank God as we receive his goodness, mercy and blessings in our life this Holiday season. Merry Christmas everyone!!


Prayer: Lord God, thank you for what Jesus has done for me. Thank you that through Jesus I have joy, peace, blessings, deliverance, protection, healing and victory. I will not allow this “Holiday Blues” to have any place in my life on any season. As a child of God, I live by faith. I change my thinking towards the things of God, and I choose to live in the spirit - for where the spirit of the Lord, there is liberty. I choose to live in God’s divine plan for my life and that is a life of victory. Amen