Hope can feel hard to come by during the holidays, especially when you’re wracked with pain or weighed down with grief. Yes, it might be “the most wonderful time of the year” for some. But for others, it’s a season when wonderful times seem both far behind and far beyond them.

Perhaps you fall into this latter category. If so, the incarnation may not seem like a relevant consolation. But consider this comforting truth as you weep and lament: Jesus was born not to fail but to prove himself faithful.

As you reflect on what Christ’s birth means for you and your suffering today, remember that he has succeeded at everything he was born to do—from canceling our debt to affording us his glorious riches. Remember that Jesus was born so that pain and grief would die (Rev. 21:4). He was born to bear you up in your affliction (Ps. 68:19)—born to be with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). Christ was born to be your hope in mourning and your strength in weakness—your resurrection life in the darkness of death. In your sorrow, behold your faithful Savior. The world cannot overtake you because he was born to overcome the world (John 16:33).

No, this Christmas may not be merry for you. But it can serve to make you more resolute in Christ’s hope. The Son wasn’t born to fail the Father. He wasn’t born to fail you either.

—Christine Chappell, author, Midnight Mercies