Who doesn’t feel pulled in a zillion directions this time of year? The holiday season is often packed with expectations, and the required decisions seem to come at us from every angle. What’s meant to be joyful can quickly begin to feel overwhelming.
Here’s just a sampling of situations that can leave us feeling stuck in the middle, tugged in at least two directions at once.
- Do we go to the office Christmas party or not? It may rank low on the list of enjoyable activities, but there’s that lingering sense of obligation.
- Have we decided whose house we’re going to this year? Are we hosting again? Should we say no and, in doing so, quietly shift that responsibility to someone else?
- How much should we spend on Christmas this year—and on whom? Do we ask for lists, or hope we stumble upon something meaningful?
- Who stays on the Christmas card list, and who quietly comes off? Did they send us one last year?
- Do we let Uncle Joe bring his 175-pound dog? If not, is it fair to let Cousin Susie bring her ten-pound lap dog?
- Do we gently suggest a “do-not-discuss” list to avoid awkward or heated conversations—or do we simply excuse ourselves when tensions start to rise?
Some of these examples are admittedly tongue-in-cheek, but the reality is that most of us face some version of these challenges year after year. Too often, they steal the joy intended for this holy season.
Not every decision carries the same weight. Some are easy and cause little angst. Others brush up against deeper convictions, and those are the ones that tend to complicate things.
I don’t personally navigate most of that list anymore. My holiday celebrations are fairly uncomplicated—one of the unexpected byproducts of having a very small family circle. Still, I remember the “days of yore” when many of these same questions felt pressing and unavoidable.
That doesn’t mean I’m exempt from feeling like the tug-of-war rope. Not at all. I’m still very much in the game.
In fact, this was the original idea behind this post before I expanded it to include holiday pressures. The larger struggle isn’t seasonal—it’s daily.
Paul describes it plainly in Romans 7:15: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” That tension feels uncomfortably familiar.
Anyone else relate? I suspect that’s one reason God saw fit to include these words in Scripture. As long as we live with a sin nature, we’ll experience the inner conflict Paul describes.
Sometimes it feels almost cartoonish—like the image of a sweet, harp-strumming, halo-wearing angel perched on one shoulder, gently whispering the godly response, while a red, pointy-tail, pitchfork-wielding devil on the other shouts the exact opposite. And if I’m honest, the louder voice can sometimes sound far more appealing.
Recognizing that we’re in a battle is half the battle. Ephesians 6 reminds us that this tension isn’t imaginary—and it isn’t neutral. We’re told to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand firm against the enemy’s schemes.
So, let’s reframe the cartoon and get a bit more real. This is where the tug-of-war image comes into focus. We’re not standing on one side of the rope—we are the rope. God is on one end. The enemy is on the other. And in difficult seasons, it can feel like we’re stretched tight between the two.
But here’s the encouragement we cannot afford to miss.
This battle has already been won.
God does not lose his grip. He will pull us safely to his side of the field, while the enemy is dragged into the mud. The outcome is not in question. Victory is secure, and in Christ, we will ultimately be declared clean.
Praise God for his strength, his faithfulness, and his power to hold us fast.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God,
that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:13
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