Is church hard for you? Do changes in your church or in your personal life make it difficult to show up, especially at this time of year? Have hurt or conflict discouraged you from worshipping on Sunday mornings?

Thankfully, the Bible speaks honestly about these kinds of difficulties. The Christmas narrative itself contains a story of a woman for whom church was probably hard. We know a few things about her: Anna was old, she came from a forgotten family line, she had no immediate family, and she kept showing up to worship (Luke 2:36–38). 

Why would someone like this commit to going to worship “night and day” (v. 37)? The answer is that Anna had hope. She was “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38). Year after year, she trusted God would fulfill his promise to send a Messiah to save his people, and so, year after year, she went to the temple expecting him to do it.

And then, one day, he did. As Anna watched Joseph and Mary carry the infant Christ into the temple, all her hopes were realized (v. 38).

When gathering with God’s people for worship is hard, we too can have hope. God has promised to meet with us there (Matt. 18:20). By his Spirit, Jesus comes among his people as they worship together. On Sunday mornings, he receives their praises, hears their prayers, speaks to them in his word, and reveals himself in the sacraments. Like Anna, we can keep showing up because we know that Christ will too. 

—Megan Hill, author, Sighing on Sunday