Draw Closer to God this Christmas| Spiritual Growth| Teenagers| Transformed4More.com

Christmas truly is a wonderful time of the year. It’s generally filled with events, food, time off from school, and time with family. It should also be used as a time for us to draw closer to God.

If you’ve grown up in a Christian home, you also know that “Jesus is the reason for the season.” However, it can be hard to keep this at the forefront of our minds due to the busyness of the season and the familiarity of the story of Christ’s birth.

If we’re not careful, we can slide through the entire season and not know more about the miraculous story of Christ’s birth or draw closer to God.

With that being said, here are four ways to draw close to God this Christmas season.

Four Ways to Draw Closer to God during Christmas

1. Actually listen to and think about the words to Christian Christmas songs

I must have heard the song “O Holy Night” a thousand times growing up. Suddenly, a few years ago, I heard a very talented singer sing the song, and I was brought to tears. I genuinely thought about, for maybe the first time ever, what it must have been like to see the heavens filled with angels and what it would have been like to see Jesus in the manger.

Sometimes, we grow up and just become accustomed to these songs forgetting that Jesus’ birth was a miraculous event unlike any the world has ever seen.

2. Pay attention in church

This may sound weird because we’re always supposed to pay attention in church. However, at times, we tend to tune out when we’re hearing something familiar being preached. They preacher starts talking about the trip to Bethlehem and all of sudden we’re thinking about lunch.

Do all you can to pay attention. Follow along with the story. Take notes. Think about what it must have been like to be Mary. Think about what traits Joseph must have had for God to allow him to be Jesus’ earthly father. Imagine having to flee to a foreign land with a young son because a king wants to kill him.

There are always new things to glean from the Bible and the Jesus’s birth, even if you’ve heard it 15 times.

3. Find opportunities to give and serve

When we give of our time and resources for God, it helps show God’s love to others. Many, many people contribute to Operation Christmas Child. This is a wonderful way to bless a child and share God’s word. Locally, my community has an “Empty Stocking Fund” and “The Angle Tree” that gives gifts to needy children during holiday season.

The opportunities to help are endless. Find what’s going on locally in your town, get a group together, and volunteer! It really is better to give than to receive.

4. Invite people to your church

This may make you extremely uncomfortable, but as a teenager you are surrounded by people who don’t know God. Think of someone, or ask God to show you someone, to invite. Teenagers are generally open minded and you never know if you don’t ask. The worse that could happen is for them to tell you no. Then just try again with another person.

If you don’t think a certain person would come to church, ask them to come to your church Christmas party, play, dinner, program, youth event, etc. Sometimes people are more likely to come if it’s not Sunday morning church. Stretching yourself and asking someone to come will push you out of your comfort zone and closer to continuing the mission that God left for us to do.

In Closing

Don’t just let this Christmas season slip by. Follow the suggestions above and get the most out of this time of year. Is there anything you do that’s not mentioned that helps you stay focused during the holiday season? Let us know!

Also, here at Transformed4More, we have two books for Christmas. Learn more by clicking the titles: