A Prayer for Those Struggling Financially During the Holiday Season
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading:
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 14:17
Listen or Read Below:
The leaves had hardly shifted colors or left their branches when it abruptly began. Aisles of grocery stores dressed in red and green, familiar carols taking up TV space, and retailers announcing their year-end deals and discounts. But, the joy and excitement that typically swept over my soul at these first sights and sounds, was met this particular year with a tightening grip of my heart. I’d always felt a bit strained by the stress of the financial squeeze, considering the pileup of what was always expected to be spent. But the onset of this Christmas hit different. And not necessarily in a good way.
After almost 20 years of marriage and giving our kids the best Christmas we could, Mike and I had just experienced the largest financial loss we’d ever imagined a few short months before the Christmas craze. Craze. I can’t believe I’m even using that word to describe the most wonderful time of the year. This blessed time, we have the honor and privilege of celebrating the coming of our Savior. But, if your bank account doesn’t seem to measure up to the demands of what our culture has created with the season, you might be viewing what’s around you through a similar skewed lens of tangled turmoil, too. I asked myself why? Why do I feel like I don’t measure up or have enough to offer? What do I, you, and all of them really need anyway?
Do you feel like you don’t have enough to cover the expectations of this season too? The thing is, it’s true. This year, I don’t have as much money. But also true, it’s not really the money and things that bring any of us what we really want anyway, is it? No, it’s the joy that the season brings that we want and want to share.
We think we need to lavish gifts on our kids, extended families, and friends. We convince ourselves we should show up with excess and fancy food for all our festivities, match the massive spending of our rich relatives, and deck our house and every hall with fresh decor. We even find ourselves with loads of unnecessary debt, splurging on outings and traditions to create and control memories and the perfect Christmas emotions. Yes, we might tell ourselves that all this stuff matters. Yet we forget our true source of joy. And we forget where joy is actually placed and produced.
God creates joy in our hearts. It’s God who is the source of all joy. He creates joy in us. Because he is in us. It’s him and his joy that flows in us, and through us, and out of us that has the greatest impact of this special season. A season of anticipation and celebration of the source of our greatest joy. Jesus.
And the joy of Jesus is free. It’s free to have within, and it’s free to share. But we have to harness it. We need to acknowledge when it feels like we have less, that we still have so much. And we need to get on our knees and thank him for every little and big bit. Then trust that he will use even the smallest crumbs to go a long way. But more importantly, we must keep praising him until we find a fulfillment of gratitude and peace that then flows out as the pure joy you and all the world are thirsty for.
There is no greater gift you can give someone this season than your spirit-filled, joy-filled, Jesus-filled presence. It’s true. I think we know that no matter the gift, receiving something, anything, from a joyless giver only depletes and steals your joy. But a small token from a person beaming with God‘s goodness, joy, love, and compassion blesses you and all those in your path with refreshment and the light of the Lord. I pray we won’t be discouraged by what we lack or be consumed by fleeting indulgences and less important pleasures of the season. But that, instead, we will be encouraged by the wealth we have to give today, in the riches of God‘s glory and the joy of Jesus.
Let’s pray:
Lord, You are the God of abundance. All that I have, you have given me, and it is so much more than I give you credit for. I confess that when I feel a lack in my life or get distracted by what the world says I should do and have, I neglect the extent of your blessings and fail to acknowledge that joy is provided in you alone. And Lord, it is joy that we are all longing for. Please help me remember to focus on you. Help me notice every simple and small gift you’ve bestowed in my past and present surroundings. This awareness is where I will see you and find you. Where I will find and shine your joy. Which is what the world truly wants and needs. Lord, please continue to provide my daily bread and sufficient portions, as I know you always generously have. I praise you that you will never fail. In your forever faithful name, amen.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/gpointstudio
Keri Eichberger is a Jesus-loving Kentucky girl. She is married to her best friend, Mike, and has a full house of five kids. After years of writing for an online audience, Keri became ordained through Southeast Christian Church, giving her life to full-time ministry. She is the author of Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes, and has a passion for sharing faith-filled encouragement through devotional writing. Connect with Keri at KeriEichberger.com or Instagram.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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