So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine.
It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
1 Peter 1:6-7
“God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day.” We have sung these words every year for as long as we can remember, but in this familiar Christmas carol, much gets lost in translation. Since it was written in 19th century English, trying to understand the meaning in 21st century America leaves us scratching our heads. Is it about telling “merry gentlemen” to rest in the middle of their Christmas parties?
Or perhaps it is telling them they need Jesus after all their holiday shenanigans. Believe it or not, the song isn’t about “merry gentlemen” at all. It is about God giving us rest, and in old English, telling us all to rest “merry”. Merry means JOYFUL! When we rest in God, we will experience JOY!
The song goes on: “To save us all from Satan’s power, when we were gone astray. Oh tidings of comfort and joy.” Yeah, that Baby in the manger came to rescue us all. And it is only a relationship with Him that brings true comfort in our pain, in our struggles, and on our hardest days. Our joy is never dependent on our circumstances. It is dependent on our relationship with God. We will never experience joy or rest if we only look at our struggles, because a self-focused life will never, ever make us stronger or more joyful. Only a Jesus-focused life can do that! The joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus gives us the strength to persevere and face any of life’s storms with courage and with grace.
Comfort is not the absence of pain; it is the presence of God! It is WHO came to earth as a tiny baby and slept in a manger. It is who helps you through the pain and struggles in your life. It’s who holds you through every storm. And it is whose birth you will celebrate next week. From the sweet wooden manger bed to the rough, cruel wooden cross, Jesus is your comfort! Only He brings great joy (Luke 2:10), and deep dependence on Him alone is what “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is all about. May you experience comfort and joy like never before as you focus on the Reason for it all! You are loved!