And the Soul Felt Its Worth
By Hallee Bridgeman

The Christmas season has gotten so loud! Starting sometime in mid-August, the Christmas decorations in stores start coming out. The closer to Thanksgiving we get, the noisier it gets. Sales! Music! Lights! Everywhere you can turn, there is some reminder of the winter holiday filled with creepy elves and fat men in magical sleighs.

Even for those seek to center our hearts and minds on our Savior’s birth, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos and the noise.

The hymn “O Holy Night” constantly grounds me during the Christmas season. Whenever I hear it, it gives me pause. The song’s lyrics provide me with a moment of such reverence and acknowledgement of the majesty of Christ’s birth. This event brought angels who sang “Glory to God in the Highest” into our realm (Luke 2:14 NKJV).

The first verse of this hymn gives us a glimpse into the majesty of Christ:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth

Those words pour over me and affirm all of my love and worship to our Christ.

Philippians 2:9-11 says: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (NKJV).

The chorus of O Holy Night says:

Fall on your knees
O hear the angels’ voices

When that song washes over me, I long to be in that field with those shepherds so I can fall on my knees and, in person, worship the one who God has exalted and given the name above all names. It makes the ribbons and wreaths and trees fade and opens my heart to the truth: Without Christ, we are lost, pining, and our soul feels no worth.

Our family’s tradition is to participate in the Jesse Tree devotional. The book we use starts day 1 with Creation and goes in order throughout the Old Testament, then ends day 25 with Christ’s birth.

The original idea of the nightly advent is to place ornaments on a small tree that coincide with that night’s scripture and devotion. Because the nightly readings move through the Bible, I hang a garland on the wall and every ornament acts as a timeline representing the timeline of Christ through the Bible leading up to his birth. It’s a beautiful reminder to our children that God has always had it in His plan to provide a Savior to us.

We get to show them that Christ’s coming was foretold from the beginning of the Bible and He loves us enough to send His only Son into the world long lain in sin so that we can be redeemed.

I pray you have a chance during the hustle and bustle to savor the certainty of God’s love for you and that you’re able to grasp the magnitude of the gift He’s given us in His Son.

Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn that speaks to your soul this way? How do you center yourself during a busy holiday season?

Get to know Hallee!

With over half a million sales, Hallee Bridgeman is a best-selling Christian author who writes action-packed romantic suspense focusing on realistic characters who face real world problems. Her work has been described as everything from refreshing to heart-stopping exciting and edgy. Hallee loves coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. Above all else, she loves God with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength; has been redeemed by the blood of Christ; and relies on the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide her.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.