For more than 1,000 years, the Church has taken the time during Advent to focus on some different spiritual principles that God wants to see develop in the hearts and lives of His people. One of those principles if joy. We know that God wants us to experience joy, but there are times when doing so doesn’t seem so easy. During this Advent season, ask God to give you a fresh infusion of His joy, so you can truly experience the power that it provides.
“Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King!”
Isaac Watts-1719
Isaac Watts was the author of more than 750 hymns during his life, including some that are still incredibly popular among churches today. However, arguably his most famous song is “Joy to the World,” a song that has been sung in Christmas services, homes, and other places for more than 300 years. Christmastime is truly a season of joy, as we celebrate the fact that God sent His Son into the world so that we could have access to our Heavenly Father.
However, there are times where joy seems unattainable, especially in the times that we’re living in. Unless you have been living in complete seclusion, you’re probably keenly aware that there is trouble on every hand. Sickness, economic issues, political division, racial division, violence, and every other form of bad news seems to overwhelm us whenever we turn around. However, there is still a joy that we can experience that can transform us, those around us, and the world as a whole.
What is joy? What can experiencing God’s joy mean for you? How do you find joy in the middle of a world that seems to be slipping further and further into madness? Things aren’t that different today than they were on the night that Christ was born. Political turmoil, violence, and other bad pieces of news were everywhere, even if they didn’t spread as fast as they do today. However, there was joy. Many people missed it because the only grand announcement was given to some shepherds who were watching their flocks, but joy was born. This Advent, allow the same joy that was born on the first Christmas to change your perspective and change your life, just like it did on the first Christmas night.
What is Joy?
John 16:22 (ESV)
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.
In this one verse, Jesus gave us a very indirect definition of joy. We’re going to talk about the difference in joy and happiness more in a moment, but this verse is a great starting point. According to Christ, we can experience sorrow and joy at the same time. He said, “You have sorrow now,” and that “no one will take your joy from you,” in the same breath. How is that possible? How can you face sorrow and joy at the same time?
Because joy is not a response to something that we see going on around us, joy is a response to something that we know. Christmas is about the birth of Christ. We know that the Scriptures are true and that on the first Christmas night, Christ was born to a young virgin. That’s why we can have joy even in the face of sorrow.
There is plenty to be sorrowful about. Sickness has been at the middle of everything going on in the world around us for the last two-plus years. Today, there are storms ravaging different areas of the US and the rest of the world. However, none of that can take our joy from us, because we know that our joy is based on the fact that The Messiah came just like He said He would.
Joy is the response to what we know to be true, and during this season, we know that His arrival changed everything for us.
Where Do You Find Joy?
Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
There is big difference between happiness and joy. We often use the terms interchangeably, but they really aren’t. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that can change on a whim. You’re happy when you get a promotion at work, but that happiness often wears off quickly when you start having to work longer hours and experience more stress. You’re happy when you purchase a new home, but then you start experiencing financial stress associated with paying a bigger mortgage. Happiness comes and goes, but joy is permanent.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). That’s what truly separates it from happiness. When you allow the joy that God wants you to experience to truly grow in your life, it goes from being something that you have for a moment to a key component of who you really are.
How can we find joy, especially in a world that seems to offer plenty for us to not be joyful about? When the news continues to highlight everything negative and scary going on around us, how can we find joy? We find joy because we know that a virgin conceived and bore a son, and that she called his name Immanuel, just like Isaiah said she would.
Our joy is not based on anything going on around us. Instead, our joy is based on what’s happening inside of us. As children of God, we understand that we have been forever transformed by the events of the first Christmas night. When Jesus was born, God had sent His Son into the world so we could enter into a relationship with Him. That’s the source of our joy. We don’t find our joy in government officials, political leaders, economic statuses, or anything else. Those things all change, just like happiness does.
Our joy is based on something that has not and will not change. Christ came into the world as a sign of God’s love for humanity (John 3:16). His birth paved the way for His death and His eventual resurrection. When we build our lives on that, we understand that our joy is not subject to change with the things that change around us.
What Having Joy Means for You
Nehemiah 8:10 (ESV)
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of hte Lord is your strength.”
You may not think that joy and strength are related, but according to Scripture, they most certainly are. How does having joy make you stronger? Because joy is a permanent feeling that gives you the ability to fully combat the things going on around you. Thousands of years after Nehemiah told the Israelites that the joy of the Lord was their strength, James (the half-brother of Jesus) wrote these words:
James 1:2-3 (ESV)
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
The relationship between joy and strength makes more sense when you realize that you need joy to make it through trials of various kinds. We think about the trials that we face, and we often wonder if we’re going to have the strength necessary to make it through, but it’s not necessarily true that we need more strength; maybe we just need more joy.
Our joy is based on some of the things that we know, and that knowledge gives us strength. We know that Christ was born to a virgin named Mary on the first Christmas night. We know that He lived a life that was free of sin, and that He died on the cross. Most importantly, we know that He rose back to life on the third day, just like He said He would do.
Our joy is based on that, and that joy gives us the strength necessary. This Advent season, spend some time focusing on the foundational truths that give us joy. Allow the power of the Christmas story to increase the amount of joy in your life. Soon, you’ll realize that you’re also experiencing an increase in the strength that you need.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to find even more joy than ever before in this Christmas season. Remind me of the source of my joy and the connection between joy and strength. In Christ’s name I ask these things, Amen.