The Weary World Rejoices
The weary world rejoices - these words from the familiar Christmas hymn are ones I've held close in recent years.
I gather strength from this reminder, this command from scripture to rejoice. Rejoice now, it tells me. For it's not "the redeemed world rejoices" but the weary world who does the rejoicing, the world weary in waiting. Weary from what seems like a prolonged coming, a prolonged advent.
Much like Abraham's wife, Sarah.
If you've been following along with us this Christmas, you know we're looking at the genealogy of Christ, traveling back to Genesis with Adam, then Noah, last week with Abraham, and now his wife Sarah.
Last week, we studied the order of grace, and this week we see the response of grace.
Listen to Genesis 21:1-7 with me and see if you hear it.
The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son Isaac. Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. And Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me. Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!" - Genesis 21:1-7
A wearied heart with wrinkled lips which once begged and pleaded with God now rejoice in laughter.
An inhale, receiving the promise before her.
An exhale of the absurd reality of grace.
The exhale echoes into broken chords - a rhythm is found and the melody of laughter ensues.
Laughter, a sign of the unexpected; grace by far the most unexpected of all.
Sarah's expectations were soaked in human understanding of timing, justified by natural biology. Grace - the gift of heaven - supersedes the natural. "This happened at just the time God had said it would."
Grace will time and again lead us to laugh, for God's timing is always perfect but rarely if ever matches our own and our expectations of what should be.
If the miracle you're praying for today seems slow in coming, a prolonged advent, take heart and know you are in good company. The company of grace is marked with waiting, but how incredible, how hopeful to see the company of grace is marked with waiting but also with laughter.
Like Sarah, we receive and say, "All who hear about this will laugh with me."
For it doesn't make sense. No logic, no statistic to support this event. No one would expect this. Yet, when we pray for a miracle, we are asking for the supernatural - what goes beyond natural laws and understanding - to come to earth as it is in heaven. We are praying for lightness of heart to befriend our tired and weary souls. We are praying to inhale deeply once again, to exhale the reality of grace - however absurd it may be. My friend, underneath our prayer for a miracle is the heart longing to laugh again, to rejoice with honest abandon.
Abandon so pure and so lively. Laughter, this echo of grace, is captivating and contagious. It grips our hearts, sometimes bringing tears to our eyes, maybe side aches to our bellies bent over in wonderment, welcoming another to join in the contagion.
Oh, the response of the unwrapping of grace. Joyful, joyful, we adore thee! Adoration like a sponge, wringing out wonder, "How could this be?! Now?! I've waited so long and now it is here!"
I see this so plainly played out in my own story. The most prolonged coming I have experienced thus far was the wait for my husband. I share more of this story here. And because it is a story penned by grace, it echoes that from the ancient of days... "This happened at just the time God had said it would."
After years and years of waiting, I walked down the aisle, my heart singing the song, "O, praise the name of the Lord our God, O praise His name forevermore..." My weary heart rejoicing. Will's eyes filled with tears, our hands finally joined together. And then, the most unexpected comes. This holy moment not interrupted but most assuredly befriended with laughter. Before our pastor can ask the guests to be seated, before the processional music has ended, the miracle of two sets of hands are joined together to enter into a covenant with God and laughter, of all things, consumes us.
An inhale of receiving God's tender mercy and faithfulness after a long and confusing wait, an exhale of grace. Similar to Sarah and I dare say to moments in your story, the exhale echoes into broken chords - a rhythm is found and the melody of laughter ensues.
Though this ache from waiting is one we all come to know in different ways and different seasons of our lives, know this with full faith: the ache does not have the final word. Because of the miracle of Christmas, Jesus has the final word.
This means the weary world rejoices and the final word is Jesus! May the final sound be the echo of this weary world exhaling grace.
As we live out our faith and trust God is faithful to keep His promises, may we breathe deeper and through our exhale of grace, may others breathe in new air. The fragrance and oxygen of heaven - grace upon grace upon grace.
And oh, how I pray this echo is the sound around your tree this year.
Close your eyes here for a moment with me and focus on the grace you have personally received from God. Inhale deeply, your nostrils widening for every bit. Hold, be still here. The diaphragm expanded, a body which made room for this gift of grace. Now exhale slowly.
In the waiting and the weariness, breathe. Be still and know God will fight for you. Joy comes and, with it, laughter of the unexpected reality of grace and mercy comes in the morning. For now, we breathe and focus on the very real presence of God here with us. Heaven with us, the gift of Christmas.
Merry Christmas, dear friend.
May we pray unceasingly for the miracles God has laid on our hearts and may we be strengthened as we still ourselves and breathe in the presence of God. May our joy be the echo of grace received and may others around us comes to know this peace for themselves as we tell of the unexpected, the miraculous we have experienced of God. May we learn to rest in His presence on the weary days and the rejoicing days alike, for a trusting heart knows these days are one and the same. The weary world rejoices because of the hope and assurance we have in Christ.
The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.
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