Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1 Peter 1:6-8
In the late 1800s on a trip to the Holy Land, Pastor T. DeWitt Talmage visited Bethlehem on Christmas Eve where he preached a sermon he called “The Sky Anthem.” Talmage said, “The music that broke through the midnight heavens was not a dirge, but an anthem. It shook joy over the hills. It not only dropped upon the shepherds, but it sprang upward among the thrones. The robe of a Savior’s righteousness is not black. Through the revelation of that Christmas night I find that religion is not a groan, but a song. In a world of sin, and sick beds, and sepulchers, we must have trouble; but in the darkest night the heavens part with angelic song. You may, like Paul, be shipwrecked, but I exhort you to be of good cheer, for you who are trusting on Christ shall all escape safe to the land.”
The world is filled with troubles and trials because of sin. There are temptations and tribulations that all of us experience. Yet in the midst of darkness, there is always light. In the midst of doubt, there is always hope. In the midst of sorrow, there is still joy. Those of us who have received the gift of love provided by the One who was born in Bethlehem always have access to the hope and joy only Jesus can provide. As we keep our focus on Him rather than being distracted by events happening around us, we will be able to rejoice in Him. Peter wrote to suffering Christians, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13).
