The halls are decked, the lights are up, the tree is standing (slightly crooked, let’s pretend that’s charming) and the countdown is on. Is it just me, or did the world start decorating for Christmas before the Thanksgiving turkey was in the oven?

Advent used to be the season of waiting, but now it’s a race to fill that Amazon cart as full as we can! And the list of trending gift options is endless. Cozy blankets (weighted, chunky knit, fuzzy) that practically scream I know how you love to binge Netflix. Stanley Cups are still a thing because trendy and hydrated never goes out of style, right?

But let’s be real for a moment. Christmas is about more than perfect gifts and Pinterest-worthy decorations and feasts. The beauty of Advent (as opposed to the commercial thing we’ve made of Christmas) is not about gifts. It’s about what Jesus has already given and what He is still offering. Which brings me to a question that’s been on my heart.

What do you want?

Not your wish list, I mean the deeper question. The one that Jesus often asked the people who crowded around Him. What do you want Me to do for you?

Years ago, on a trip to Israel, we visited Magdala (the town where Mary Magdalene lived) and walked through the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Our guide said with absolute certainty that this was one of the places where Jesus taught. I will never forget it.  Right there, on the stones beneath our feet, He stood. Followers, skeptics, and the curious all gathered to hear this Galilean Rabbi speak as no man ever spoke before.

Then the guide said that Jesus is alive and still working right now in our midst. That’s true of course, but it resonates deeply as I remember the same Jesus who walked those streets, who healed the blind and fed the hungry, is with us now. He is still asking, What do you want Me to do for you?

Think with me.

Imagine Jesus is sitting with you—the real, messy, holiday-stressed version of you, not the Instagram-filtered, perfect Christian version. He looks you in the eye and asks, what do you want Me to do for you?

He’s not asking for a polite answer or a rehearsed prayer. This is not some therapeutic icebreaker. He’s not just letting you vent.  He asks but already knows what your soul needs most. He asks because He can actually do something about it.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve started treating Jesus like a sympathetic friend who listens to our problems but can’t really help. Let me remind you, He’s not just kind.

He is the Almighty.

The Creator. When He speaks, storms stop. Diseases disappear. The dead get up.

So when you answer His question, don’t answer like you’re making a wish and tossing it into a well. Remember you are talking to the King of the Universe. Bring your brokenness, your doubts, your mess—but bring them expectantly.

He can heal. He can restore. He can move in ways you cannot even imagine.

Now I get it…sometimes we hesitate to ask because we don’t see results right away, or we think this mess has been broken for too long. Real life isn’t like a Hallmark movie that gets fixed in sixty minutes while twinkle lights and snow glisten in the background.

More than a story.

Christmas is more than a sweet story—it’s a celebration of God who came into this despairing, broken world. He didn’t just come to clean up our mess, He conquered it.

What do you want for Christmas?

While we’re talking about it, let me tell you what happiness is not. It’s not the fleeting high of opening presents under the tree. Real happiness—what the Bible calls blessedness—is deeper. It’s not seasonal or superficial. Happiness is like a tree firmly planted by a stream (Psalm 1:3). It’s alive, rooted, drawing from the eternal source of life and bearing fruit. But there’s the catch.

Happiness can’t be found directly. It’s always a byproduct. If you chase happiness for its own sake, you’ll lose it. But if you chase something greater—righteousness, truth, God Himself—you’ll find happiness thrown in as a bonus.

Like the prodigal son who chased parties, wealth, fun, and lost everything. But when he came back with nothing in humble repentance, saying just make me a servant, the Father welcomed him back and gave him the party anyway. Why?

Because when you seek Jesus, you find the Father. And when you find the Father, you find everything else you didn’t even know you were looking for.

 

What do you want Me to do for you? Jesus, the King of kings is asking. This question is not only for Christmas, but also for your soul.

Don’t settle for the temporary or superficial. Ask for water that never runs dry. For treasure that won’t tarnish and fade away with the years. Ask in humble honesty. But ask big and then watch Him move.