My Holy Night

My favorite Christmas song of all time is O Holy Night. There are two outstanding truths that are found in the song. The first states, "Long lay the world in sin and error pining/"Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth". The second tells us "Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother/And in His name all oppression shall cease" signifying that Jesus came to free the oppressed. To understand why these lyrics are so important, we have to examine what it is for a night to be holy. To be holy is to be different, set apart, unlike any other. This night of Jesus's birth was a night unlike any other night in history. It was different because it was on this night that hope, love, and real life were born. This night was set apart because the only one who could give our souls meaning and free us from the sins that bind us was born.

Just as the song tells of a night that was unlike any other for mankind, I have had a night in my life which I would call "Holy."  I call the night holy because it was a night that was made different from any other because God made His presence known. It wasn't holy or different because I had done anything great, it was holy because I was at the end of my rope. I found myself in a place of hopelessness. I felt absolutely worthless. I was in a place where I felt that I had been abandoned by someone I loved and even worse, I blamed myself for it. I had spiraled into a sadness I couldn't shake and felt that there was nothing I could do to fix it. All I wanted to do was sleep and yet sleep would not come because my mind was running out of control.

After weeks of feeling sorry for myself, I found myself one Saturday evening lying on my bathroom floor, with my stomach in knots asking God why I had to go on living in such a state of helplessness.
I had been brought to this place by a series of events that I may or may not ever share, but what is important is that my faith was shattered and I was empty, but in His loving kindness, God appeared to me. Did I literally see God? No, but He made His presence known in a real way. In that moment of sickness, God began to bring to my mind all the times He had spared me. My parents were told when my mom was pregnant with me that I wouldn't make it, but I did. There were the moments in school when I was bullied and tortured and wanted to give up on my trust in God, but I survived. And there was the incident just weeks prior to that holy night when God kept His hand on me in the middle of a serious car wreck. He spoke to my heart and reminded me that He had kept me here for a reason that I hadn't seen yet. In that moment, like the Prodigal son, I "came to my senses". I got up, looked in the mirror and saw how ridiculous I looked, and started the process of moving on. He broke the oppression that was on me, and suddenly I could see the light again.

What does this have to with the song or even Christmas for that matter? I was bound in chains that I couldn't break free of until God made His presence known to me one night that I will forever consider "holy" because it was a night unlike any other. During this Christmas season, I implore you to stop focusing on the shopping and the food and the music and the lights and settle for just a moment and reflect on your holy night. As we celebrate the birth of our savior, take the time to remember the moment when you felt Him speak to you. Remember the instant when He filled your heart so completely, that you knew things would be different. If you don't know Him in that real way, I invite you open your heart to what He has for you. God has a purpose for your life. Your soul has worth, your life has value. He came for you. If you call on His name, He will break the chains that surround you. In His name ALL oppression shall cease.