Behold Jesus: An Advent Study
Join me as we hold onto the hope, peace, joy, and love of Jesus.
My car wove cautiously through the winding hills of Napa during a terrible storm one Christmas Eve night. The darkness of the night sky and the cars passing by me on the small two-lane road, made it difficult to see clearly ahead of me. Although I was surrounded by beautiful grapevines and rolling green hills, the darkness and torrential downpour made me feel heavy and scared. My knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel tightly and if I am being completely honest, my whole body was tense as I attempted to make my way home from a friend’s Christmas party. Since this was my first time driving in the area alone (and not to mention it was before the time of GPS!) I struggled to know if I was even headed in the right direction. My hands were numb from how tightly they clung around the steering wheel. When I miraculously made it back home, I parked my car into the driveway and wept. My whole body released all the tension and anxiety I held onto while I was traveling through the storm. I didn’t realize at the time, I was not only trying to battle through the bad weather, but I was battling the overwhelming fear inside of me.
Sometimes we get caught up in the storms of life and the struggles of the world that we don’t realize what we are holding tightly to. We grip security, we grip control, and we grip for unmet expectations. We hold fast to fear and being busy, unable to release our grip and the grip it has on us.
Or we become memorized by the sparkly things this world offers and we cleave to desires we are not meant to behold.
We white knuckle our way through the day wondering if we will ever be at peace and enjoy our life. We get lost in hopelessness and despair. We cling tighter and tighter, grasping and clawing at all the wrong things.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus wasn’t afraid to call people out on what they were truly holding onto. From the rich young ruler to the Pharisees and even His own disciples, Jesus shined His light onto the state of their heart. Whether they were clinging to their wealth, status, security, idols, rules, and the false idea of perfection, Jesus pointed out their attachment issues.
As much as I like to read through these stories and pretend it was their issue and not my own, I know deep down I am also a noisy gong and a whitewashed tomb (1 Corinthians 13:1, Matthew 23:27). When Jesus reaches out for me to come follow Him, I can be found clasping my whole body tightly around my earthly treasures and possessions, similar to a toddler holding onto his mom for dear life.
So, what are you holding onto?
Take a deep breath. Release your grip and surrender.
Let go of the world.
Let go of control.
Let go of busy.
Let go of fear.
Let go of selfish desires.
Let go of perfection.
Let go of unmet expectations.
Let it all go.
Hold fast to Jesus.
His hope.
His peace.
His joy.
His love.
This Christmas season, let our hearts choose Jesus over everything else. Let us behold Him! Let us be filled with His goodness!
Join me for my new Advent Study Behold! Don’t let the Reason for the Season get lost in the hoopla of the holiday. Together, we will cleave to the hope, peace, joy, and love of Jesus.
What to expect:
One-month study starting December 3rd!
Weekly devotional to guide your heart to experience the hope, peace, joy, and love of Jesus (includes breath prayers!)
Weekly journaling pages and Scripture study
Quick Notes for the Heart-key takeaways for the week
Special weekly podcasts to dig deeper and where I’ll share some personal stories!
Prayer thread
And more!!
Sign up today and we will get started on Sunday, December 3rd.
Love this, so beautifully written! 🙏❤️❤️