There’s many different reasons we can feel tired, discouraged, or weak. However, most stem from the same root — our inability to find the proper source of sustainable strength. We’re good at finding moments of strength, but consistent strength is more difficult to come by. It doesn’t come from people, accolades, or things. True strength comes when we rest in, and live out of, the love Jesus has for us. All other sources of strength eventually leave us running on empty.

As Jesus prepared to be arrested and crucified, He prepared His disciples for the moments ahead as much as possible. Part of the preparation was acknowledging that there would be reason to worry, to be afraid. However, he encouraged them not to allow their hearts to become troubled by what was ahead; but instead, to continue believing in Him and all He promised. The same is true for us whenever trouble arises. We don’t have to allow it to take root or grow — but we can choose to overcome it by understanding Who we believe in is greater than whatever situation we find ourselves in.

There are times we become so discouraged, it seems as if there’s no point in trying anymore. It can seem as if there’s nod point in believing anymore. After disappointment after disappointment, and delay after delay, it can feel as if there’s no use. This often leads us to stop trying, to stop showing up. But there’s power in showing up. There’s strength in showing up. And eventually, there’s a miracle waiting when we decide to keep showing up.

It’s easy to get caught up in the destination and forget the beauty of the journey. When we have a goal in mind, a dream in mind, we want to accomplish it immediately. This can cause us not to enjoy the minor victories. It can cause us to overlook the small, yet important, progress we make along the way. While the destination is worth celebrating — and those moments will come — we can’t forget that each step along the way is worth celebrating too.

We rarely just quit for no reason. We rarely give up on dreams, plans, and callings for no reason. But just because we have a reason to quit, doesn’t mean that we should quit. In life, we get tired and weary for legitimate reasons. There are times we don’t see any way that we could keep trusting the process and continuing to move forward. There are moments where everyone would understand if/why we quit. But we can find strength in those moments. As is the case for everything in our lives, Jesus gave us the perfect example of how to keep going.

We want to understand how things work. We desire to know how things work, why they work, and even why they don’t work. While that in and of itself is not bad, the Kingdom of God is different. It requires faith — which means it requires us to trust things that we may not be able to understand and/or explain. Because of this, we often stop short of seeing the completion of God’s plan in our lives. It is always tempting to quit things we cannot explain, or maybe to not even begin in the first place. However, freedom and growth is found in the moments we become ok with saying, “I don’t know.”

It’s easy for us to feel forgotten. It’s easy for us to feel unseen. Especially as we end another year, we can begin to feel as if what we’ve been believing for and working towards is in vain. Whenever we look back over another year that passed without us seeing a promise from God fulfilled, it’s natural to question if a) we misheard God or b) God has forgotten about us. Those questions often lead us to lose motivation, become lazy, or give up all together. However, continual faith and patience in the midst of those feelings of being forgotten is what brings about the desired end.

The Christmas story offers hope and joy — but it also offers important lessons. Each person that played a part in the story of Jesus’ birth was placed in a situation that did not make sense. They had reason after reason to doubt what was to take place, and they especially had reasons to doubt how they could be involved. We, too, often feel as if God’s plan for our lives is too impossible — too good to be true. We have our disqualifications, our misunderstandings, and our personal objections. Yet, while those may all be legitimate on the surface, God’s plan supersedes them all — just like what took place throughout the events in and around Jesus’ birth.

We tend to feel alone, when God is very much present. However, we miss Him for a variety of different reasons. We’re expecting something different, we’re wanting something different, we were told it would be something different. Yet, just because it’s not how we thought He’d show up, it doesn’t mean God didn’t show up. God is with you, but He may reveal Himself in different ways or places that you expected Him to.