A wife writes to say her marriage is falling apart. She is so depressed, she says, that “I can barely even work or get out of bed.”
Another says she is separated from her husband and would like to reconcile, “but I cannot go through him coming back and sucking all the life out of me again. I think it may just kill me. I feel empty, and I have no strength left.”
A mother and father are heartbroken about the struggles their daughter is having in her marriage. “We long to see them live together in a home where Christ is obeyed, honored, served, and where they can have peace, joy, and the hope of a future together.”
During this Christmas season, I’ve been thinking of these marriages—and so many others represented in the letters and emails FamilyLife receives every day. These are people who need a special dose of the hope that God offers through Christ.
One of my favorite parts of the nativity story is when Mary is told she will bear a son who “will be called the Son of the Most High.” She asks, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” and the angel replies, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:34-37).
I love that final phrase: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” It’s the type of truth we need to remember in our lives, our marriages, our families.
We need to remember that the God who made it possible for a virgin to conceive can heal any marriage and any family problem.
The God who came to live with us understands the temptations we face, and gives us the power to turn away from them.
The God who sent angels to speak to men two thousand years ago still speaks to us today through His Word.
The God who sent Jesus to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) … because we couldn’t do it on our own … now gives us the power to walk with Him every hour of every day.
We all have something going on in our lives that should cause us to turn to God … some problem or situation that we just can’t seem to solve ourselves.
Christmas gives us hope that God wants to be intimately involved in our lives … and that nothing is impossible for Him.
Copyright © 2012 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved.
