When Christmas Is Hard

About this plan

Christmas is meant to be glad, and for many people it is the hardest week of the year. A death, a divorce, an empty chair, a strained family or plain loneliness can make the carols hard to bear. This plan does not ask you to feel cheerful. It stays with you for the seven days before Christmas and reads Scripture that is honest about pain.

It begins on 18 December with Naomi coming home empty in Ruth 1 and Psalm 13, which asks “How long, Lord?” On 21 December Elijah, worn out, is fed and allowed to rest in 1 Kings 19. On 22 December Jesus weeps at the grave of his friend in John 11, and on 23 December Romans 8 says that nothing can separate you from God’s love. Christmas Eve ends with Isaiah 57 and Psalm 27, for those who wait.

If the season is heavier than you can carry alone, tell someone you trust, such as a friend, your pastor or a counsellor. This plan sits beside that care and does not replace it.

What you’ll read

• Naomi comes home empty18 DecemberRuth 1, Psalm 13
• The God of all comfort19 December2 Corinthians 1, Psalm 34
• Elijah, worn out21 December1 Kings 19
• Jesus weeps22 DecemberJohn 11, Psalm 56
• Nothing can separate us23 DecemberRomans 8, Psalm 46

14 chapters · 7 books · every December

This plan follows the calendar: it runs for seven days, from 18 December to Christmas Eve, and begins again the next December.