Why Advent Still Matters: Finding Hope in a Hurry‑Sick World

Holiday parties. Christmas lights. Christmas shopping. Traveling. Wrapping presents. Baking cookies. As much as we love the Christmas season, as soon as it comes, it feels as if it is gone. The days and weeks fly by with schedules filled to the brim just like our cups of hot chocolate. Before we know it, December 25 has come and gone. If you’re like me, sometimes you wake up on Christmas morning and realize that you’ve been so busy, that you haven’t spent much quality time with the Lord.

But what if I told you there’s a tradition that invites you to slow down and remember Jesus each week, and even each day, of the Christmas season? It’s called Advent, a sacred season in the Church calendar that celebrates Christ’s arrival. For centuries, saints of old have chosen to wait—to join into the Israelites’ longing for a Messiah, to celebrate Christ’s coming, and to anticipate His return. The Advent season celebrates the fact that God keeps His promises.

Though this season is hundreds of years old, it is still relevant today. In a season that is marked by busyness and full calendars, it provides us with an opportunity to slow down and remember Jesus. Advent reminds us that this world is not our home, and our greatest treasures are not found under a tree. Rather, our greatest treasure is, and always will be, Jesus.

A Time to Slow Down

For approximately four weeks, you have the opportunity to carve out time in your schedule to pray, focus on the Lord, and thank God for the gift of Jesus. Many choose to follow an Advent Bible Study to guide their time with the Lord. This year, The Daily Grace Co. invites you into our 2025 Advent Study, Awakening Wonder. Each day of this study will fix your gaze on our faithful God, who took the form of a human to dwell among us. This time in God’s Word will help center your heart around what truly matters at Christmas.

Some families also choose to participate in a centuries-old candle-lighting tradition that helps us anticipate the coming of Christ. For the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, Christians light candles to remember the hope, joy, peace, and love that Christ brings us. Jesus is the true Light of the World. This tradition offers a time for families to pause from the hustle and bustle of the season and put Jesus at the center of the holiday.

A Time to Remember

Advent is also a time to remember. Sometimes, when we are hopping from one event to another, we fail to stop and reflect. We are quick to forget that this season is more than wrapped presents and baked goods. As we create space to spend time with Jesus, we practice putting God first, even in the busiest moments of the year. We pause to reflect upon His goodness. We remember that He kept His promises in Christ, and we trust that He will come again, just as He said.

A Time to Anticipate

Sometimes, if we’re honest, it’s easy to take Jesus for granted. We forget that the Israelites waited and waited for God’s coming redemption for thousands of years. But we now know the name of the Savior they longed for. We know that He came as a humble baby, and grew to be a sinless man. We know that our Savior is none other than God Himself. We know that He sacrificed His life to save us. Together in the Advent season, we practice waiting and anticipating Christ’s first coming.

We also practice anticipation for Christ’s return. Just as He arrived as a baby in Bethlehem, we know that He will come back to defeat Satan once and for all. Though we wrestle with disappointment, loss, discouragement, and pain here on earth, we look forward to a day when the Lord will wipe our tears—the last tears we will ever cry. One day, we will experience a second Advent, when Jesus comes to dwell with His people forevermore. Advent invites us to remember the hope we have ahead of us.

Celebrating Advent helps us to center the holiday season around Jesus—not just in theory, but in practice. Jesus deserves all glory and honor, not just in the Advent season, but with every moment of our lives. Perhaps celebrating Advent can create the daily rhythm of being in God’s Word that you’ve longed for throughout the year. Perhaps Advent is just the beginning.

You are invited to make this year different than years past. You are invited to slow down, to rest, and to dwell in the presence of Christ who is with you in each moment. You are invited to remember the miracle that is Christ’s birth. You are invited to behold the God who loves you enough to enter into a sinful world and redeem you from sin. You are invited to worship.