Almost annually, the “most wonderful time of the year” gets invaded by stress and fatigue. The showstopper cookies you planned for weeks burn. A blizzard kept you from seeing your middle-schooler participate in his very first Christmas program. Each holiday is tainted by the memory of loved ones no longer here.

Satan loves to prey on us as we experience the heartbreaks. Can he push me to snap at my spouse? Does he dig that pit of despair deeper each Christmas? Can he distract our hearts from Jesus? He celebrates our pain whenever he shifts our perspective away from heaven’s peace to this world’s problems.

But God reminds us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Whether we experience delight or devastation, we can raise our gaze heavenward. Less-than-stellar cookies remind us of God’s daily provision, which we so easily take for granted. A service cancelled due to weather can remind us of the debt of sin Jesus cancelled on our behalf. The pain of missing someone special encourages us to look to the eternal life we will soon have.

Mary may have been tempted to grumble about her uncomfortable journey and giving birth in a humble stable. We will be tempted too. The Holy Spirit can help us focus not on our challenges but rather on the fulfillment of God’s promises that first Christmas night and even still.