Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

“Let every heart prepare him room.” – Issac Watts, “Joy to the World” (1719)

Church family,

When I was growing up, my mom would sit me down in my room each January, open my closet, pull out old toys and clothes, and make me get rid of some. Christmas had come, and the new gifts it had brought couldn’t stay scattered around the house when school resumed. To embrace the new, I had to let go of the old. I had to make room.

For eight winters now, you’ve heard Kyle and I say over and over again that Advent is a season of waiting. Not an idle waiting, but a purposeful one. Preparation is the heartbeat of Advent. In fact, on November 30th, the green fabrics on our stage will be replaced by purple, the liturgical color symbolizing preparation.

Certainly, there is much preparation to be done for our Christmas plans—shopping, wrapping, packing, cleaning, updating mailing lists, coordinating with family. But that’s not what we’re talking about.

Advent is a season of spiritual preparation. It is a time to “make room”—in our hearts, minds, and lives—for the arrival of Christ that Christmas represents. It is a time to reflect and ask ourselves, “What is in the way of more attention to Christ? More hope in Christ? More obedience to Christ? More delight in Christ?”

You see, we don’t follow the liturgical calendar to just keep the story of the gospel front-of-mind or to teach our kids about it. More than that, the liturgical calendar invites us to practice our response to the gospel throughout the year. The calendar is not just an educational tool; it is fundamentally a formational practice.

Each year, Advent comforts us with its message: “The King has come, the King is here, and the King is coming again.” But it also confronts us: “Will you prepare him room?”

Advent gives us an opportunity at the end of each year to do two things. First, to take inventory, asking ourselves: “What is the spiritual clutter I’ve gathered over the course of 2025? What clutters my time, attention, and affection?” And second, to repent, praying: “Lord, here is what I let go of to renew my time, attention, and affection unto you.”

The King has come. Let’s use this season to grant him the room he deserves in our lives and our worship.