Do You Have the Christmas Blues? {Psalm 19}

A lot of time and emotion is spent on trying to create the perfect Christmas, but for many it ends in Christmas blues. Here is what to do when that happens.

“7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,  rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.”

Psalm 19:7-11

As soon as the Christmas trees go up in Target and Christmas music begins to play – some of us get anxious about all the work, money spent and people we have to be around during the holidays.

Even for normally cheerful people, we can feel a sort of melancholy mood settle in.  Christmas blues are created by unmet expectations, broken relationships, overwhelming to-do lists and exhaustion.

Retailers oversell many of their products.  They tell women they deserve diamonds. They tell teens they must wear certain name brands and they make toys look amazing in the commercials, but after 20 minutes of trying to wrestle a beloved toy out of the box, the children cast them aside and head back to their crayons and construction paper as usual.  The diamonds may never come and the wrong name brand might show up in the gift bag…then what?

Some of us start out well. We are excited about all the wonderful days ahead and we volunteer to lead things and plan to make 10 different types of cookies, do elaborate wrapping and decorate our homes to the hilt. But come December 26th – we are drained.

Christmas is a hard time of year for so many of us who have an empty chair at the table because of the loss of a loved one.

For others – there’s someone in the chair you really wish –wasn’t there. And still for others, it’s a time of loneliness or of reflecting over the past year and it can be overwhelmingly emotional.

Hours and hours spent attempting to create a dreamy Christmas can be dashed in just a few seconds by one cutting word from a loved one or a burnt casserole.

Emotions are not dependable. They go up and down like a roller coaster.  Life is a series of valleys and mountain tops – ever changing from season to season.

But one thing is unchanging – God’s Word.

As we see in Psalm 19 – God’s word is sure, restoring our soul.  And during this season filled with so many emotions, we must look to Jesus and his Word for a firm foundation.

Isaiah 9:6 says:

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Baby Jesus in the manger is not a warm fuzzy story for our children. He’s a strong fortress for you and me to cling to!

This child born in Bethlehem – the Savior of the world – is OURS!

He exceeds all expectations! He fulfills all His promises!  He is the reason for all of our to-do lists and decorating and shopping and baking!  He is our cause for rejoicing.

But when He gets lost in the shuffle, the Christmas blues settle in.

Do you have the Christmas blues?

We must take time to drink from the living well – the living waters of God – and be women living well as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The Lord knows our need to be restored every.single.day.

Do you need revived?  Read God’s Word. (v7)

Do you need wisdom?  Read God’s Word. (v 7)

Do you need joy? Read God’s Word. (v 8)

Do you need enlightened?  Read God’s Word. (v8)

God’s word is sweeter than honey.  Friends, that is SWEET!

God’s word is to be more desired than gold, even much fine gold.

John Piper writes:

If you have a choice between the Word of God and GOLD, choose the Word of God. If you have a choice between the Word of God and MUCH gold, choose the Word of God. If you have choice between the Word of God and much FINE gold, choose the Word of God. The point is plain. The benefits of knowing and doing the Word of God are greater than all that money can buy.

Let the Christmas blues draw you to God and His Word.  Fall on your knees in worship to Him.

“If you have a better relationship with the Lord at the end of the holiday celebrations, you have had a very successful holiday.”
~ Penny Thrasher, Putting God Back in the Holidays

Walk with the King,

Courtney

**Chime In**

Do you struggle with the blues at Christmas?
How do you combat them?
What scripture do you go to?

22 Comments

  1. Thanks, Courtney, for putting this very real challenge on the table. It’s a huge issue for many of the women I talk with. I know more than one person who just can’t wait til January rolls around. December can be a real nightmare.

    For When It’s Christmas … and You Want to Cry
    http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2013/12/for-when-its-christmas-and-you-want-to.html

    I hope these 5 proactive ways to respond when we’re in this really difficult place will be of some encouragement to someone somewhere. Even if some of the ideas may be a bit of a surprise …

    Advent blessings to you, friend.

  2. Thanks again for this! Honestly, it was a bit hard for me to get into the Christmas Spirit. Last year, our shed in the backyard caught on fire, thankfully nobody was hurt! All of my Christmas decorations were in that shed, I lost EVERYTHING !! I had sooo much….I was pretty upset.
    I realize now, that it was just stuff, stuff that can be replaced. Not having a tree, decorations or lights doesn’t make Christmas! Its all about Him! We all need to have our hearts focused on Jesus!

  3. Courtney, I have been following your blog and website for over a year now. You have changed my life for the better in so many ways. I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all of the time and energy you put into every post. Tomorrow I am meeting with my Dad who I haven’t seen in 4 years. Not sure how it will go so if you could please keep me in your prayers I would greatly appreciate it.

    Thank you and God Bless!
    Heather P.

    1. Hi Heather – I am saying a prayer for you now. I can only imagine the emotions you must be feeling. Just remember that your Heavenly Father goes with you and you are unconditionally loved by Him forever. Stay strong in the Lord.
      Lots of Love,
      Courtney

  4. Corutney, I too want to thank you for all your hard work that goes into WLW and GMG! Your posts and now the blogging through the bible has been such a help for me! I lost my mom suddenly this past July and it has been hard really hard. We were laughing at the breakfast table one Sunday after church and the next day she was gone!! As we lead up closer and closer to Christmas I find myself getting knots in my stomach. But I’m a believer of Gods Word and I know (because I’m living it), my God is a comforter!! My God is a healer!! Because of His Love for me, I have HOPE in HIM!!! Yes, a seat will be empty but my heart rejoices that although my mom isn’t sitting at the table with us, she has a much better table to dine from. From losing my mom to our finances just being on the rocks just like they were last year! I’m learning that the material things will not give me Hope, Comfort, Peace, Joy or Happiness. I got two seasonal jobs at jewelry store and Coach for the holidays and I see people drop hundreds to thousands everyday and wonder where did they get all this money. One, Jessica get out of their pockets!! Two, the gifts are nice but the real meaning of Christmas is Christ !!!

    My prayers are with all of you ladies as we enter this holiday season. Courtney can’t wait to read your blog posts for Exodus!!

  5. This post was so encouraging. This year we will be the first year we won’t have my grandmother over. Two years ago my grandfather died. A year later my grandmother rekindled a relationship with someone from high school. Little did we know the man was married and his wife was in Alzheimer’s home. We understood they were both lovely but he was still married. We encourage my grandmother to get counseling from her pastor but she refused & stopped going to church. They later moved in together.

    My heart aches that she has walked away from the Lord. Because she is in an adulterous relationship we have ceased communicating with her. My prayer is that she turns her heart back to the Lord and His ways.

    I have contemplated having her meet my family at a location, like a restaurant, to exchange gifts without her boyfriend there. I did at least want to write her a letter, send pictures of my girls and send a gift. Your thoughts??

    1. Try hard to keep a connection with your grandmother. Only love will bring her back to the Lord. He loves us all unconditionally. Shes lonely. Try not to shut her out. None of us are perfect. We All sin and fall short of His glory.

      1. Your response is beautiful as we do all fall short at times but the battle inside always turns us back to the Lord.

  6. What a powerful massage! As, I read Psalms 19 and I go down to 19:14 Let the word of my mouth, and the mediation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.__

    When Juses obeyed God, and and give out the good news to the people you never seem him a day without spending time with God or just walking his own path.

    God wants us to meditation, God wants his words on our mouth, God wants to draw deeper into or heart, God wants to strength us; most of the time we seem to be to busy, and also trying to be something we not. Be honest, how can we be used by God we not even begin obeying to his words: because his words is the only thing that can give us life.. I knew I really do need to meditation on his words more …

    Joy to my eyes..!

    Thank you have a bless day in the Lord..!!

  7. Dear Courtney,

    Thank you for this encouraging post. I think it is very wise for me to read this over and over until it is Christmas;)

    Yvonne

  8. I’ve been facing this and have seen many others my age face the same thing lately. It has bothered me so much lately that I couldn’t sleep last night. So I’m up after only an hour or two of sleep and I start to make a list of WHY I’m not excited about Christmas. It took 2 sheets of lined paper to get it out and that is without repeating anything. What it found in common about everything was how I felt about it. I found that things weren’t going MY way. I hadn’t even considered that this may be God’s way. Honestly while writing I didn’t care. I was just tired of feeling this way. I was tired of the pain, anger and frustration. Then I found your post and you kept telling me to turn back to God’s Word. I’ve not even opened my bible and already there are several scriptures that are coming to mind. I have taken God and His will for my life completely out of the picture, the same thing I point a finger about others doing, and made it all about ME and what I want.

    These realizations are HARD. They are not easy lessons to learn. I guess I just got smacked with the lesson from my least favorite Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. I hate how he whines the whole movie. Woe is him. His life is SO horrible. His life didn’t turn out like HE planned. The world would be a better place if he had never been part of it. I still don’t like that movie, but it has a lesson that I needed to learn today.

    This life and this season isn’t about MY plans, desires and wishes. It is about God’s plans, desires and wishes for me, as they are far better than anything I could come up with. I also was reminded that I need to trust Him to help me through this season. He has a plan for me, and I need to sit back with love and prayer and watch it unfold.

    Thank you for leading me back to where I needed to be, in God’s Word.

  9. Thanks for the encoureminder. This will be the 3rd Christmas away from my family & it’s difficult. Plus all of our decorations are still down there. While we don’t need all that stuff to celebrate Christmas, it’s made things a little dull. I keep reminding myself that Christ didn’t have anything when He came to us & many today don’t either. While this helps, I still miss family.

  10. Thank you for this post. It has been a very difficult holiday. I feel as though I have become Mrs. Grinch! Every year it seems as though it gets more difficult to celebrate – the to do list becomes longer and the reason for the season drifts farther and farther away.
    In addition, my brother died in January of this year from a heroin overdose. It will be a different, new normal for our family this year, especially my Mom. Life goes on – I know. Sometimes, it’s harder than others.

    1. Dawn I am sorry for the loss of your brother. Be kind to yourself through the grief. I lost a brother Many years ago it is hard.

  11. Courtney

    Thank you for your heartfelt message. I have been struggling this season, and God spoke to me through your words. I am single – it seems that this time of year it is magnified — attending parties alone, often the one that is forgotten, that no one knows “what to do” with. My son recently moved across the country and due to work obligations is unable to come home. Although I struggled, I look to the top of the Christmas tree, to that star, and am reminded of the true reason of Christmas. Satan does all that he can to steal our joy, and I keep refocusing on HIM, the “reason for the season.” Your message just re-affirmed all of His promises to us.

    Many blessings to you and your family!!!

  12. My husband and I were just talking about how frenzied things feel during this time of year. I have been wanting to spend more time in the Word, and thank you for putting out this challenge. It’s just what I needed to hear.

  13. Courtney…I too needed to hear this tonight. I lost my job in May after 18 years..I was not looking forward to the holidays.. I have for the last few weeks doing an advent devotional…and I have never felt closer to Jesus..thanks again…and Merry Christmas…

  14. Thank you for this reminder. I have tried so hard to keep Jesus the center. I’ve really struggled this year with kids that seem to be too self absorbed and that has broken my heart because I didn’t think I had those kids. I thought mine could stay fixed on the true purpose. So I’ve come a little unhinged a couple of times and yelled at them for not seeing in this season what I wanted them to see. BUT. . . . after church service yesterday and visiting a live nativity I have found that we have to take the time to welcome Jesus in, not just talk about it. It has be intentional. Also, I’ve struggled with spending money that I feel should go to someone more in need. We usually do several things around this time of year to give back and we haven’t done that this year and I feel both guilt and shame for that. How can I expect my kids to think past themselves when their parents didn’t lead the way. So anyway about me, thank you for what you do everyday. You help to keep me on track. I truly wish I was a woman that was keeping someone on track. LOL . . . I’ll get there one day.

  15. Thank you for sharing this Courtney! I think I have the Christmas blues every year. It seems like there is more bickering, fighting going on among everyone. The home life never feels totally calm or settled and I don’t know what to do to settle things except continue to pray.

  16. The holidays are always a hard time for me. Empty chairs, seeing relatives that I really don’t like, spending too much money. It is all so……overwhelming. Thankful for the grace of Jesus, who loves me no matter what I do.

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