JOY

My Christmas as a preacher’s kid probably looked a little different than your childhood Christmas. When I was growing up, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were an all-out sprint. We traveled 2 hours both days for extended family gatherings with a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and our family Christmas sandwiched in between.  The Christmas “rush” did not slow down until I was a married adult with children. The first few “slower” Christmases did not feel like Christmas to me at all.  The meaning, the traditions, the family, the tree, and the music were all the same. Only the feeling of Christmas changed. 

The same can be said of joy. There are times when we just don’t feel joyful. In fact, we feel anything but joyful. Nothing seems to be going right. The wilderness waiting is too long. The hurts are too deep. The emptiness too real. The mountain too looming. But, just as it was Christmas when it didn't feel like it on all those December 25th's, we can have joy despite our circumstances.

We often confuse joy with happiness. These are not the same thing. Happiness is fleeting. It is situational. Conversely, joy is a state of being. It is a constant not contingent on circumstance. It is a God-given gift.

Our joy started in a manger and was fulfilled on the cross.

Luke 2:8-11 introduces the shepherds to this joy.  

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby,

keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them,

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news

that will cause great joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is the Messiah, the Lord."

Our joy is sourced by a Savior who has been born to us, this is “good news” for ALL the people.

Jesus says of himself, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:9-12

Our joy is complete by remaining in him. This joy cannot be taken away (John 16:22).

In his first letter, Peter reminds us suffering is a reality but it does not negate our joy. “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

The prophet Habakkuk declares this,

“Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

(Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is not something we can do for ourselves. It is a direct result of trusting in the Father, believing he is who he says he is and he will do what he said he would do. The more we seek him the better we will know him. The better we know him the more we will trust him. The more we trust him the greater our joy.  

We cannot place our trust in how things feel. Joy, inexpressible and glorious joy, only comes from placing our trust in God.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Christmas 1986