Joy

As we enter this third week of Advent, I invite you to take a moment to reflect on the previous 2. Hope and Peace. They are building blocks to what this week is all about. Joy.

So many things come to my mind when I first think of joy. As many others do, I often first think of fun memories, laughter in the air, jubilant celebrations, and other things that bring smiles to our faces and a lift to our hearts; things that make us happy. It is definitely easy to feel joyful during times like those, but that is not what joy is. True joy isn’t just another word for happy. True joy doesn’t depend on favorable circumstances and situations, but rather comes from a much deeper and more stable source. Christ in our hearts.

The joy of Christmas, the Joy of Christ. Much like hope, it’s most notable beginning is an angel filled sky, star lit stable, bewildered shepherds kneeling at a feeding trough, a new born king laying inside it wrapped in cloths meant for swaddling newborn lambs… but it doesn’t end there. Much like peace, the joy of Christ doesn’t need outside influence or circumstances to make it happen; rather, it can be in our hearts even when it makes no sense for it to exist.

Hope and peace, the kind that come from Christ, lead us to joy. A true, deep, lasting joy that can fill us to overflowing with celebration and praise just as much as it can give us just enough light to help us carry on through the darkness that life can sometimes bring. When I think about true joy, and start to reflect on what it is, a small passage in 2 Corinthians always seems to come to mind…

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.
…
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet
inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what
is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
— 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9, 16-18

“Light and momentary troubles”… did you catch that? Paul wrote that during the time frame of him facing shipwrecks, imprisonment, persecution, and even fear of death. Light and momentary troubles??? None of those seem to fit that phrase, but when you read the next two sentences it starts to become clear why they do. When we take our eyes off of our surroundings and circumstances (what is seen) and focus them onto Christ and His promises (what is unseen) anything this world can throw at us does indeed measure up to being light and momentary in comparison.

That’s the beauty of the Joy of Christ. That’s the secret so to speak. This life is going to be hard at times; we are not always going to be happy. Sometimes we will be full of celebration and smiles and the happiness feels like it could last forever. Joy can be ours in both. Deep, stable, resonating, comforting joy is never more than a heart beat and a prayer away; no matter what is going on around us. What a beautiful gift to have access to. May the joy of Christ fill your hearts and your homes this Advent season and throughout the new year as you trust in Him and rest in His loving arms.

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This is week 3 of our Advent posts. You can find the full collection here.