My husband takes care of our 4-year-old daughter in the mornings (to the delight of this non-morning person). He makes her breakfast, ensures she takes her vitamin, and does a very short devotional with her. Usually, she silently eats while he reads Scripture aloud.

Recently, though, he read Psalm 25:16, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted,” and she blurted out, “Papi, what’s ‘afflicted’?” My husband paused before attempting to explain. Then, “Papi, are you afflicted?” Unwittingly, our daughter did what God is especially good at—asking questions that penetrate our souls and open our sealed lips.

If God were to ask you today, “Are you afflicted?” how might you answer him? With a loud, “Yes!”? With a song of lament? Or maybe with a deep, tearful groan? Perhaps words simply don’t do justice to your emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual pain as 2020 comes to a close.

If so, this Advent season is for you. As Caroline Cobb states, “2020 has primed us for the ache of Advent.” Many of us have never waited, watched, longed, and lamented quite like we have this year. And that posture prepares us to more fully celebrate the first advent of Christ while eagerly awaiting his second advent.

Like me, are you afflicted? Then come, let us worship Immanuel—born poor, born to suffer, born to embody our sorrow and defeat our sin.

With the warmest of virtual hugs,