When Christmas Disappoints: Fixing Our Eyes on the Hope That Never Fades

Even the very best parts of this life are like an appetizer while we look forward to a feast.

Last Christmas, I found myself frustrated in the front seat as we turned back for home because of sickness instead of joining our family for the holiday traditions we had been looking forward to.

Disappointment stings, especially when it means missing out on something you longed and waited for. Proverbs 13:12 captures this ache clearly: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” This verse reflects the emotional weight that comes when expectations are delayed or disrupted, something the people of Israel understood deeply as they waited generation after generation for the promised Messiah.

When Holiday Joy and Hardship Collide

The holiday season is anticipated all year for its nostalgia and fun, magical memories, and family reunions. But the hard stuff in life does not go on vacation just because we might. Scripture never portrays joy as the absence of difficulty, and the Christmas story itself shows this. Mary and Joseph walked through uncertainty, travel, discomfort, and danger while carrying the hope of the world.

Often, holidays can bring a mix of emotions. In the midst of all the festivities, you might feel the burden of logistical and economic overwhelm, loneliness, missing loved ones, relationship conflict, or seasonal sickness. Do not let those realities rob you of experiencing the true joy of Jesus in this season.

This life will always hold the tension of joy and disappointment as our hearts experience God’s grace here on earth but long for the perfection of heaven.

The Biblical Lens for Disappointment

How do we navigate the inevitability of disappointment and challenges mixed in with joy and blessings while we wait? Scripture gives us a clear path. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:16–18, “We do not lose heart… For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Paul wrote these words to a church experiencing real suffering, reminding them that their present circumstances were not the full story. Affliction was not meaningless. It was preparing them for something greater. This truth anchors us when Christmas looks different than we hoped. It calls us to lift our gaze beyond what is temporary and fix it on the eternal joy that cannot be shaken.

Heartsick for Heaven

We count down for Christmas because there is a longing deep within us to experience the perfect love and joy and peace we were created for. We are heartsick for heaven.

Your very best Christmas memory, as magical as it may be, is just a taste of the goodness we will experience in heaven. Scripture tells us this world is not our final home and that our deepest desires ultimately point us toward eternity, where every disappointment will be redeemed and every longing fulfilled in the presence of Christ. (see Revelation 21:4)

The Gift Is Not How We Celebrate, but Who We Celebrate

In the meantime, the gift of this season is not how we celebrate, but Who we celebrate.

The God who never changes, even when our plans do (Malachi 3:6, NIV)
A Father who gives every good and perfect gift (James 1:17, NIV)
Our Savior who sees and sustains (Proverbs 15:3 interpreted in context with the theme of God’s attentive care)
“Emmanuel: God with us” (Matthew 1:23, NIV)

The Scriptures bring our focus back to Christ, the One who holds all things together, who understands our disappointments, and who promises a future where every sorrow will be swallowed up in joy.