A growing number of churches are holding annual Blue Christmas services for those faced with grief and loss. The holiday season’s emphasis on happiness and good cheer often makes people who are dealing with heartbreak feel even worse.

An Associated Press article quoted a pastor who described the Blue Christmas service as “an opportunity for people to come and be in the presence of God and acknowledge their grief and despair and loneliness and give it to God.” One participant added, “And it’s a good place to have a cry and no one will mind.”

During the Christmas season, we often read Isaiah’s prophecies of the coming Messiah who would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14) and called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (9:6). But perhaps we should also include the words of Isaiah 53: “He is . . . a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. . . . Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows . . . . And by His stripes we are healed” (vv.3-5). The psalmist reminds us that “[The Lord] heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps. 147:3).

If you’re hurting this Christmas, remember: Jesus came to save us, to help us, and to heal us.  — David C. McCasland