The Joy of Christmas

Pastor Dave introduced the subject of joy by saying that everybody experiences joy at times. They feel joy, he said, when they win the lottery (or a new car on a gameshow) or when their child hits a homerun or when they open a Christmas gift and find exactly what they wanted. I wouldn’t call that emotion joy, but rather glee, delight, excitement, thrill. Dave also cited the birth of a child as a time when people experience joy, and there I agree that joy is the right word. The miracle of a new life transcends the human parents and the physical surroundings and points to something, or Someone, bigger.

We believers have the opportunity to experience true joy, the transcendent joy associated with Christmas, as a regular part of life, not just a handful of times in our “threescore years and ten” (as do unbelievers) and not just in December. How do we get that joy? Dave taught that real joy does not come from circumstances. A person’s circumstances may be difficult because of illness, conflict in a relationship, financial pressures, or they may be mundane, boring, “flat” – but he or she can experience joy nevertheless. Joy comes from God, not from favorable circumstances. Therefore, real joy is supernatural. It is a gift from Jesus, delivered by the Holy Spirit. It is not something we ourselves manufacture by striving to change our attitude about our circumstances. Dave also emphasized that real joy is often based on what is to come, the future not the present. He wasn’t talking about the foreseeable future – “next year when I get a raise” – but rather the next act in God’s grand plan – Jesus Christ’s second coming, to reign.

Ask the Lord to give you the gift of real joy. Keep this in mind: You may agree that asking God for joy is a good idea and you may intend to do so, but that is not the same thing as actually bowing in prayer in the presence of your Lord. Perhaps I do not have because I have not asked! Keep this in mind too: Jesus told us to persist in prayer. Ask, and keep on asking. Add to your prayer faith that the Lord hears you, has the power to fill you with joy, and will. And finally: Listen. God may be telling you it’s time to set aside a pursuit that advertises joy, but "joy" that is not the real thing.

Ask God to give us opportunities in this Christmas season to talk to unbelievers about joy. As Dave pointed out, the word joy is everywhere this time of year, and everybody wants it. Perhaps we can plant a few gospel seeds in conversations about joy.

In Christ,
Carol Gilbert

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