Be Still
Louise Duval
MA, LPC, LAC, CAC
11/30/2025
As we say goodbye to Thanksgiving and move toward Christmas, it may be a good time to take the advice of the Psalmist in Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In Bible times, the Jewish people would travel from their homes to Jerusalem to celebrate feasts, but as they went, they took time to prepare their hearts for the feasts by singing songs (many of which are recorded in the Bible). Some people today observe Advent, a time of anticipation and waiting for Christmas. After taking time to recognize the blessings God has given us, we can prepare our hearts for Christmas by focusing on who God is and why He came to Earth.
One of my favorite names for Jesus is Emmanuel, which means God with us. What we celebrate at Christmas is that God literally came to earth in the human form of Jesus. People have many different emotions at Christmas; some feel joyful, while others feel generous and loving. However, some feel sad and are grieving the loss of someone they love or are separated from those they love, and some get lost in the buying and busyness. Wherever you find yourself this year, now is a time to ready your heart to celebrate God’s arrival to earth in human form because that can give you hope no matter what you are going through. The great thing about Christmas and God coming to earth is that He is still here. The name Emmanuel is mentioned in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew 1:23: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Emmanuel, which means, God with us.” Then, the Gospel of Matthew also ends with a promise from God to be with us, the last verse of Matthew, one of the last things Jesus says to His disciples before He ascends to Heaven is, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the earth.” (Matthew 28:20). Although Jesus is not here physically, He has left His Holy Spirit with us so that we do not face life alone.
Christmas does not make everything perfect, and although being with the people we love and buying things, Christmas lights, music, and decorations may give us temporary happiness, lasting joy comes when you recognize that God is with you in the good and evil, the happy and sad, the easy and the hard. There will always be problems in this world; Christmas doesn’t change that, and maybe that is the beauty of Emmanuel: knowing that Jesus is with you no matter what you face in this life. My prayer is that, before the busyness of Christmas takes over our lives, you will take time to reflect on what Emmanuel truly means, so that you will enter Christmas with hope and joy.