Third Day has a song on their Christmas album called “Christmas Like a Child.” That song resonates deep within my soul as I hear it with the ears of lived experience. As a child, Christmas brought with it so much anticipation, excitement, and hope. A collective experience amongst children. Behind those children were, are, often tired and frazzled mommas trying to make it special in whatever way possible. The season carries with it a sense of hope and expectation. Yet, life can wear us down and Christmas can quickly lose its wonder.

How do we guard against deflated hope, forgotten peace, unclaimed joy, and unfelt love? Or, when we hear the lyrics of “Joy to the World,” how do we allow our hearts to prepare Him room? Hope disappears because we have experienced disappointment. Repeated disappointment often callouses our hearts and we erect walls to guard and protect us from any more dashed hopes. Peace can feel elusive when nothing about our worlds radiates peace. Joy is quickly written off for people who aren’t going through what we are or mistakenly interpreted as a Pollyanna mindset, not rooted in reality. Love in a world that is so angry?

Our world today is not so different from the world in which Christ was born on that first Christmas. The people were walking in darkness. Hope felt out of reach because it had been 400 years since God had spoken to Israel. Jesus was not born into a world of peace; rather He came as the Prince of Peace. Hardened hearts. Perhaps they even had doubts, wondering if God had forgotten about them. But God broke through the darkness and the Light of the World entered the darkness in the form of a helpless, humble baby. The Son of God in human flesh. Have we lost sight of the gift of love wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger? Do we not recognize that He left everything in order to die for us so that we could have eternal life with Him?

Christmas isn’t about perfection in how we celebrate. Perfection came as a baby boy who grew up and lived a sinless life to be our perfect sacrifice so that we might live now and forever with Him. The perfect gifts for everyone on our lists won’t bring us lasting joy. Receiving exactly what we hoped for won’t offer us sustaining joy. Our people, including ourselves, are still flawed humans that are going to be selfish and get on our nerves and require our grace and forgiveness. Our happy ending isn’t a Hallmark love story, though who doesn’t love a snowy Christmas town with a fairytale ending every now and then?! But Jesus is the lover of our souls and the answer to our every need.

We can fill our evenings and days with Christmas parties, holiday gatherings, Christmas movies, baking, game nights, or with any other way we celebrate Christmas, but not one of these will bring us true joy and satisfaction. Hope is the certainty that Jesus holds our future, and He will return for us. Hope reminds us that it is not up to us because God is sovereign and we can trust in Him. Peace isn’t found in perfection or our circumstances. Peace is that Jesus came to reconcile us to God. His peace transcends our ability to understand it. Peace accompanies us in every situation we face. True peace is never an absence of chaos or conflict. Peace is found in Jesus Christ, and His peace rules our hearts, reigning over all the other thoughts, feelings, or emotions that threaten to take over. Joy is not happiness. Joy is not circumstantial. Joy placed in Jesus alone is sustaining. The greatest Love we will ever know descended from heaven and became a baby boy because God longed for intimacy and fellowship with us that much. Love came through the sacrifice of Jesus.

To prepare our hearts for Him this season is to take a look at where we may be placing our hope, peace, joy, and love? What are we seeking to fulfill these longings? Jesus is the King of Kings, and He won’t share His place on the throne. We are told in Scripture that God is a jealous God. He is jealous for us, for our hearts, for our affections. Are we placing idols on the throne of our hearts over Jesus? Are we seeking rightly ordered circumstances to give us peace? Are we pursuing joy and fulfillment in the temporary things of this world that were never meant to satisfy?

When I think of preparation, I see effort and planning, intentionality. Our hearts will not accidentally be prepared for Jesus. Advent carries with it the ideas of expectation and anticipation. Waiting for the Messiah to come. Jesus has come once, but He is returning for us. Not only should we look to prepare our hearts room for Christ this season, but we also should be preparing our hearts and our lives for His Second Advent. Preparation includes a space for quiet reflection to know God and be known by Him, a space to hear from Him and allow Him to reveal our hearts to us. If we cannot accurately and thoughtfully examine our hearts, then we may not see what God may be trying to root out of us or plant within us.

This Christmas season, I want a heart that is set on Jesus. A heart that anticipates and expects Him to come…not just for His return, but to be present and active in my life through the Holy Spirit daily. I don’t want the noise and distractions to be so loud that I miss hearing the message of Jesus in my heart. We can encounter Christmas like a child this season with anticipation, expectation, and confidence. Our hopes are not placed in packages under the tree. Our Savior offers us so much more than anything we could tangibly receive on Christmas morning. Jesus is our hope who does not disappoint. Jesus is our peace that passes understanding. Jesus is our joy that endures regardless of external factors. Jesus is love that came down for us. Jesus brought us the greatest gift we don’t deserve, and He watches us with a face of delight as we unwrap the priceless gift and know Him more deeply every day.

As we journey through this Christmas season, let us embrace the spirit of childlike wonder and joy that comes from knowing Jesus. May we guard our hearts against the distractions that threaten to steal our focus from what truly matters—our relationship with Him. We have the opportunity to prepare our hearts not just for the celebration of His birth but for the continual presence of His love in our lives.