Joy to the World!
(Read Luke 2)
Sometimes the Christmas season brings despair and loneliness instead of the happiness that is expected of the holiday. There’s a lot of pressure to be happy, to be dazzled, and to act like everything is great — even when it’s not. I’ve heard people tell me that Christmas can bring out the worst in people. We have ourselves to blame for this, it’s not a spiritual problem, it’s a societal problem. While the notion that there are more suicides during the holiday season is scary, according to the CDC, it’s a myth. December is the lowest of all 12 months. But the point remains, a lot of people aren’t happy this time of the year. A lot of people look for happiness in the wrong things instead of joy in the one thing.
Our current series of devotionals is covering the topic of Advent, the season of preparation leading to the celebration of Jesus’ birth and second coming. This week of Advent highlights the third candle, which is pink in some churches, called the “Shepherd’s Candle” and symbolizes joy. I think some of this holiday confusion comes from the simple fact that happiness and joy are not the same thing. Happiness is when you find the exact gift your wife asked for, was the last one on the shelf, and if you’re at Kohl’s, it’s an additional 25% off. Joy is when you feel God’s grace shining on you telling you how pleased He is with you or when you know He’s answering your cries for help.
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Psalm 4:7
King David’s son Absalom was a jealous and insecure man who wanted his father’s kingdom. To gain David’s kingdom, he tried to kill him. David wrote this Psalm as a praise to God and to tell us about his pain, happiness, and joy. After the attempt on his life, David fled and prayed to God. God answered David, giving him a heart full of peace and joy. David compared his overwhelming joy with the seasonal happiness that the local farmers experienced from their bountiful grain harvests. David’s relationship with God wasn’t as brief as a harvest or from anything the earth could deliver, it was eternal fulfillment. David had gladness in his heart because God put it there.
I have had true joy from knowing God for quite a while. It hasn’t always been the same though, sometimes I feel Him beside me and sometimes I sadly wonder where He is. There was a night 15 years ago when my son did something so amazing, so unexpected, so out of character, I was blown away with emotion. At the end of a 3-day spiritual journey called Chrysalis, he stood in front a large crowd and professed his commitment to Jesus Christ. We thought we were just going to a closing ceremony. Even if we knew what was coming next, it still couldn’t compare with the awe that came with that night.
The happiness in me was bubbling out like a sponge that couldn’t hold its water. Looking right, I remember seeing my wife’s wet eyes, looking left, I saw my friend’s contained and knowing smile. It wasn’t parental pride, “Hey look at my son,” it was more like, “Thank you God for calling him, for bringing him to you.” My wife and I had no words. No doubt that Jesus was beside our boy and us that night. As I look back on it however, it wasn’t happiness that we were feeling, it was joy. Wayne Dyer wrote that, “Life is a parenthesis surrounded in eternity,” that’s how we remember the joy of that night. It was a temporary instance of happiness wrapped around a lifetime of joy bound with Jesus Christ.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Luke 2:8-14
If you’ve been around for a while and you like Christmas movies, you might be familiar with this passage of Luke because Linus read it in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Part of this passage was borrowed by Luke from the Prophet Isaiah. The Shepherds were the dregs of society. They were outcasts. Uneducated and smelly, no one wanted anything to do with them. Except God. The angelic visit was a dazzling light show at a time before electricity, explosions, internet, and cell phones. Imagine what these forgotten sheep herders were thinking! It’s a message for us too to remind us that no matter who, what, or where we are, there is a promise of good news of great joy for us.
Common Christian tradition doesn’t explore this much, but in the Bible when an angel visited it usually meant that someone was in store for a pretty bad time. Shepherds weren’t literate scribes in Jewish ways, but they could see that angels were awe-inspiring beings. So, when an army of angels appeared praising God, telling the shepherds not to fear, but to be joyfully expectant of this most incredible event that would change the world, it was a big deal. In this passage of Luke, the angel stressed that this good news included joy, “for all the people.” Shepherds and us too. The shepherds responded appropriately with praise.
We can get carried away with ritualistic Christmas grandeur. Buried beneath the weight of our blinking celebrations is the living Christ wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. God chose the shepherds as a divine revelation of His promise of salvation to even the lowest on earth. The unremarkable, ordinary herdsmen weren’t directed to seek out the newborn baby, but they were told how to find Him. So are we.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13
A week ago, Thursday, I made a surprise visit with a friend who just had her second brain surgery to remove a very rare malignant tumor. Her medical team thought the treatments were going well until some recent tests revealed growth in new areas. It was the worst of news. We haven’t seen each other in about fifteen years. Our visit was so much better than I expected considering her surgery was only a week beforehand. She had some trouble with communication which seemed uneventful to me, even though she was kind of frustrated. My friend wants to be healed of course, she wants more time, but she said she’s really hoping for a few years. I was moved by her honesty and courage. I told her that my wife and I have been praying for her every day since we heard about the relapse. When asked what we should pray for, she just said, “A few years, if possible. I’d like to be as independent as possible, and not be a burden to anyone.” Wow. We have been praying fervently for her and have shared her story with our small group from church. Aside from asking our Savior to comfort, bless, and heal her according to His plan, I’ve been asking for her to get Christ’s joy as treatment and come to know Him.
When I trust in God, He gives me peace and joy, and a connection so strong it’s like He’s embracing me. Christmas wishes and cards are great, but God’s joy and peace are so much deeper, more filling, and longer lasting. We need each other just to get by, let alone go one more day when we’re pressed, how much more can God give us when we ask?
Our son has missed work all week due to a horrible case of hives. His whole body and some of his face is covered. Steroids and other things are helping a little although it’s still spreading. He’s a pretty level man emotionally but even his dad can tell he’s not himself. His family has been reshuffling their holiday plans all week. Our Christmas gathering with them has been moved up because they can’t attend a holiday party tonight. More than likely, some of the longstanding family traditions we cherished so much are up in the air. We just don’t know from one day to another. After my Bible reading this morning, it dawned on me not for the first time, that the joy of Christmas doesn’t come from traditions, it only comes from God.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
John 15:11
Jesus plainly told us that He is the answer. Happiness arrives and leaves in a New York minute. It depends on circumstances; it depends on us or what others do to us. Jesus’ answer is joy. My friend and my son are in a position of waiting. In a spiritual way, so are we. This year, we need to worship Jesus instead of the Christmas blitz. We can release our less important expectations with Jesus’ gift of hope and joy! We are waiting for Him!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
Joy to the World — Isaac Watts
Key Applications:
- Read Luke 2. After you read it, let the words soak in. Be quiet and still. Let God’s peace, hope, and joy fill your heart.
- When you’re busy doing one of your Christmas traditions. Take a second to pause. Thank God for this moment in your life. Thank Him for the bigger gift yet to come.
- Are you more worried with your Christmas plans than “the reason for the season?” It’s easy to fix. Let go of something this year. Instead fill that gap with a Bible reading, prayer, or kind supporting words with a friend. Joy to the world!
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.