We are in the final month of the year, when preparations for Christmas and the New Year fill our days: lists, goals, shopping, schedules, and expectations. We organize everything to welcome guests or to visit someone special, to turn the year “the right way” and begin a new cycle. But amid so many external adjustments, an important question arises: are we preparing in the same way to receive Jesus?
A full schedule
“She gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”
Luke 2:7
Many times, our lives are so full of commitments, tasks, and plans that there is no room left for the presence of Christ.
We tidy the house, plan the dinner, organize gatherings, and set goals for the coming year, yet we leave the heart disordered. Jesus continues knocking at the door, as Revelation 3:20 says, longing to come in and dine with us—but He does not force His way in. He waits for the door to be opened willingly.
Preparing for Jesus is not about filling our lives with activities, but about removing excess. It is emptying the heart of hurry, anxiety, and control so that He may dwell there. True preparation begins when we recognize that He does not want to merely visit, but to remain—and it is we who open that path.
Human expectations vs. Spiritual preparation
“A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”
Isaiah 40:3–5
The world prepares for dates, results, and achievements. God, however, calls us to prepare the way. There is nothing wrong with preparing for celebrations—it is a wonderful season in which we can draw even closer to those we love. But may we prepare with the same enthusiasm for the presence of Jesus.
At the end of the year, we create lists of what we want to achieve, change, or conquer. But Jesus teaches us to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). True preparation does not begin with goals, but with the right priority. When the Kingdom comes first, everything else finds its proper place.
Preparing for Jesus is about aligning expectations. It is exchanging anxiety for rest, control for trust, and personal plans and dreams for the guidance of the Spirit. A prepared heart understands that more important than starting the year well is walking with God every single day of it.
It all begins with a surrendered heart
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:1-2
The New Year brings a sense of new beginnings, Christmas reminds us of the comfort that exists in loving and being loved. Before the calendar turns, before the preparations for the Christmas dinner, God invites us to present our lives as a complete sacrifice.
There is no true change without inner transformation. Preparing for Jesus is allowing Him to transform our plans, desires, thoughts, and decisions.
When we prepare for Jesus, Christmas ceases to be just a date and the New Year ceases to be just a number. Both become opportunities for reunion, alignment, and surrender. A surrendered heart is the greatest gift we can offer, and the only preparation that truly sustains any new season.
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