I flipped the calendar page over.
December 1st.
I smiled smugly. “I’ve got this,” I bragged to myself. “This year December is going to be different. I am ready.”
Tired of warp-speeding through the days leading up to Christmas every year and only occasionally giving Jesus an obligatory nod, I was determined that my dear Savior would finally have center stage. What a novel thought! Jesus coming first on His birthday!
I was resolute. I was unwavering. I was adamant. This was the year.
My “spot,” my cozy living room chair where I love to meet with my Father, was all nicely prepared. My Bible, four or five devotionals I love, my prayer journal, and the new LFA advent calendar were all piled neatly beside me on the floor. It was happening. And I was pretty proud of myself.
Fast forward a couple of weeks. My spot was deserted; my books and the calendar barely touched.
But as December 18th dawned, I opened a devotional we keep in the bathroom. Max Lucado confronted me with a title, Room for God?
He wrote,
“Some of the saddest words on earth are: ‘We don’t have room for you.’
“Jesus knew the sound of those words. He was still in Mary’s womb when the innkeeper said, ‘We don’t have room for you.’
“And when he was hung on the cross, wasn’t the message one of utter rejection? ‘We don’t have room for you in this world.’
“Even today Jesus is given the same treatment. He goes from heart to heart asking if he might enter.
“Every so often, he is welcomed. Someone throws open the door of his or her heart and invites him to stay. And to that person Jesus gives this great promise: ‘There are many rooms in my Father’s house’ (John 14:2).
“What a delightful promise he makes us! We make room for him in our hearts and he makes room for us in his house.”
Room for Jesus. That was what I had determined to have….in November.
I heard that little annoying Dr. Phil I sometimes have in my head say, “So how’s that working for you?”
Why, this is one of my favorite Christmas themes—room for Jesus. I’ve written about it, sung about it, read about it, and agonized about it for too many decades to count. And this year, once again, I was nearly three weeks into the month and I had literally made room for just about everything and everybody else but my Sweet Jesus. And this after all my big plans and good intentions! Tears slipped down my burning cheeks.
If I were to place my hopes and expectations and desires of December 1st up against my December 18 reality, I would discover that I was, again, a dismal failure. Where had December gone? What had happened to my resolution to keep Him first, to throw open the door and welcome Him?
Jesus didn’t go anywhere. He was near, knocking. And I was too busy to notice.
No wonder there was so little peace and joy….
Well, that was then and this is now. Here we go again.
I’m about to flip the calendar page to January 1st and I want a second chance. How thankful I am for God’s grace!
I look ahead—not to a mere 25 days of keeping Jesus in His proper place—but to 365 uncharted, unexplored, not-yet-filled days of grand possibilities and adventures, each one a gift from the Father. Will I make grandiose, pious, and meaningless promises to make room for Jesus every day only to quickly forget in my busyness once again? Or will I really keep the door open for Jesus in my 2020?
I want to. I hope you do too.
Our caring pastors have been reminding us this Advent Season that Jesus came to earth to bring us faith, hope, joy, and peace. Isn’t that what you and I are so very busy scrambling and scratching to find? And we are so preoccupied with that exhausting quest that we simply make no time for Jesus. Do you see the irony in that? How very foolish we are to persistently pursue everything, everyone and looking everywhere to find the very things Jesus alone can give us! And He wants to. He is patiently knocking. Do you understand what happens when you open the door to your heart and give Him room?
Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
When I obediently and humbly make room for Jesus, when I passionately seek His presence, I have everything—and more—of all I have been frantically searching to find. What an amazing God!
Slow down. Give Him room. Open the door. Pay attention.
Not just at Christmas either.
There’s a whole new year He wants to spend with you.
—Eileen Hill
