“O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of the dear Savior’s birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth…” These opening words of “O Holy Night” reveal a very important need in our lives. We need to feel the importance of our souls. Your soul is the real you. Separate of your body and more than your mere intellect and personality, your soul is something that is made in God’s image and will live forever. Your soul has within it the abilities to love and hate, to experience joy and sorrow (different than mere pleasure and disappointment). You can have all your earthly needs fulfilled and still have an unhappy soul. You can suffer many earthly discomforts and still have a happy soul. The soul is a mystery that many people ignore and neglect. Psalm 142 reveals the dilemma of a person’s soul in great need with no one caring except God.

According to the song, our soul is pining (i.e languishing, suffering, feeling pain) because of sin. Many people don’t identify the problem and try to compensate with fleshly pleasures and goals. The song goes on to say that, “He appeared and the soul felt its worth…” The presence of the Son of God, coming to earth, brought attention to the need of the soul and a sense of hope: God cares. God wants to do something about it. God is here.

The Presence

Sometimes we don’t know what to do when someone is suffering. Usually, all we need to do is just go to them and be there. Giving time and attention is priceless. One of the prophetic names for Jesus Christ is “Immanuel.” It means, “God with us.” See Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23.

• Consider what the presence of God in human form should mean to us in these verses:
  John 1:1-4,14, 16-17; 14:9; I John 1:1-4; 5:20; Philippians 2:4-8; Hebrews 2:16-18; 4:14-16.
• Consider what the presence of Christ’s Spirit within us means in these verses:
  John 14:15-18,23; 16:32-33; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark16:20; Romans 5:5; I John 3:23-24;
4:12-13.

How do you read this statement: GODISNOWHERE. God is nowhere, or God is now here?

The Presents

It is wonderful to come and be with someone. It is even more gracious to come to someone with a gift. Jesus is God’s gift to us (John 3:16; II Corinthians 9:15). Christ Himself gave gifts to us. See Ephesians 4:7-8, 11-15. These spiritual gifts (Romans 12:4-10; I Corinthians 12: - 13:13) come to us in the form of people.

Please consider the need to identify and assemble with God’s people to receive the gifts that Christ has prepared for you. Also, please consider that you were intended to be a part of the gifts that Christ wants to give to others (I Peter 4:10; I John 3:16).