Many cherished Christmas carols talk about joy. Consider Joy To The World – “Joy to the world, the Lord has come.” Or While By My Sheep – “Joy, joy, joy! (echo) joy, joy, joy.” If you are looking for joy at Christmastime, you are joined by millions of people.
Interestingly, Paul starts every single letter he wrote in the New Testament with wishes of grace and JOY to his readers.
So, how’s your joy as Christmas approaches?
Definitions of Joy
I’d like to share my definition of joy in bullets points.
- Joy is a satisfied, positive confidence.
- Also, joy comes from having a certain kind of perspective, whether life is going well or poorly.
- Additionally, joy is a by-product of a person choosing to put faith in God’s goodness, grace, and sovereignty in every circumstance.
- Interestingly, people often confuse joy with happiness. Both may co-exist, but happiness is a state of emotion, while joy is a state of both mind and soul together.
- Joy can be present regardless of whether a person is feeling happy, or whether happiness is completely absent from a person’s life.
Joy In Your Life
God did not intend you to live a joyless life. Even amidst the sufferings in a broken world, God intends you to live with joy.
Remarkably, God describes Heaven as a place of joy. Regardless, God also wants you to have joy on earth. Why, then, are so many joyless days?
Actually, I believe joy is present all the time. It doesn’t “come and go.” Interestingly, it’s more like the sun. Of course, we know the sun is always present. But many days, it’s impossible to see the sun because of overcast skies, storms, and nighttime. Those conditions don’t change the fact that the sun is always present.
Similarly, joy is always present. You can’t always see it because conditions cover it, storms of life block it out, and dark seasons of the soul seem to rob joy’s presence from you. Nevertheless, joy is still always present.
Perhaps it’s more productive to realize you can tap into joy even when you don’t feel it or can’t see it. Because joy is different from happiness, it’s not confined by sorrow, loss, tragedy, and so on.
This is great news!
No matter what you’re going through at Christmastime, you can still choose joy.
Joy – Fruit of the Spirit
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit – a gift from God. (Gal. 5: 22-23)
Notably, joy is an identification mark of a Jesus follower. Actually, it is present because God’s Holy Spirit indwells a person when they trust Christ for salvation. However, joy is experienced/expressed when a person pauses frequently to be aware of and enjoy God’s presence with eager expectation.
Joy is something God gives His children. But just like any Christmas gift, you must pick it up and open it. You must embrace it to welcome the contents of the gift. Additionally, you must deliberately begin to use it – practice it – in every life scenario.
So, you can add “fruit” to your Christmas season by living with more joy.
Joy and Learning
God is delighted in your life. In fact, He is joyful in all He has made, even though sin has tainted His creation. God shares His creation with you to help you learn, as well as for your pleasure. You learn more about God as you –
- Enjoy creation.
- Proactively work to know God better.
- Discover what your Bible teaches.
- Respond to God’s training.
- Discover joy is connected to all these activities.
What is the relationship between joy and learning?
Actually, there’s so much to discover about life, about God, about yourself. Basically, an exciting future. Every time you learn something new, it’s an opportunity to see more joy in life. Thankfully, this helps diminish the sadness and sorrow that results from a fallen creation because of sin. So, joy and learning run side-by-side.
Did you know your learning will go on throughout eternity? This is part of the joy ahead in Heaven. Discovery every day. New adventures.
Why not learn something new about joy this Christmas?
Joy and Sorrow
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
It’s hard to aim for joy as you go through sorrow or unhappy times. Joy and sorrow seem opposite. Interestingly, opposite states often co-exist in our lives. Moments of joy are still present during sorrow.
Actually, joy is experienced – or renewed – in a pause. Oddly, a pause brings joy together with sorrow, which helps you heal.
Why not focus on joy even in your difficulties this Christmas?
Joy and Darkness
Darkness sometimes covers you when you live through loss and disappointments. A person can be stuck in grieving or paralyzed by upheaval. Darkness is sometimes so real it can be felt. Few people come near to God during darkness. Most keep their distance.
Exodus 20:18-21 is a most intriguing passage.
“When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid . . . the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.”
What a thought-provoking passage! Fear and difficulties seem to separate people from God. Thus, folks remain at a distance. Only some approach God in their thick darkness.
Above all else, what do you want this Christmas? Whatever it is, I urge you not to remain at a distance from God. Instead, come close to Him like Moses did.
And don’t let “being in the minority” stop you. Even in “thick darkness” you might be walking through, think of Moses. He approached God in the darkness – alone. All the other people stood removed.
Again – Ps. 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
God is in your darkness. He wants to heal your heart and memories at Christmastime. He gives you power to think and respond in healthy ways.
Joy and Prayer
Joy and prayer – together in a pause – fill your day with refreshment. It’s a simple idea. Essentially, take the joy of a moment and simply breathe it back to God in prayer. Here are examples:
As I take in the beauty of this sunrise, I look to You for new beginnings today.- The breeze touches my skin and I feel pleasure. May I take pleasure in the gentle breeze of Your Spirit as You touch me.
- My heart rises to you, O God, even as the steam rises from my coffee. May it bring joy to You even as my coffee increases my enjoyment.
- That conversation with my friend was fun. Healing laughter. I open myself to fun and laughter because You created both.
Joy in Jesus makes prayer like “breathing in” and “breathing out.”
Before we talk more about Joy at Christmastime . . .
God bless you!
Joy At Christmastime
Tenaciously, remember God loves you and is greater than any circumstance you are in. Dare to approach God in thick darkness.
Equally, share enjoyable, lighter moments with God. Reach back to Him – all day, every day. He’s right there with you.
Use a pause to drill down into God in desperate or fearful moments. Incidentally, when you do this, you tap into a vein of joy you never knew was there before.
Whatever your reality this Christmas, share it with God.
I can’t think of a better way to go into the Christmas season!
Application Thoughts And Questions
- Using the previous definitions of joy, what thoughts do you have about joy in your life?
- Would it surprise you to know feelings may or may not accompany joy? Happiness is dependent on feelings. Joy is not.
- Describe some joys you have in your life.
- How does your life bring joy to others?
- When joy seems absent, how do you get it back? Use a pause to reclaim it.
- What’s the relationship between joy and learning?
- Have you ever experienced joy in sorrow?
- Do you know you can have joy in a dark time by coming closer to God?
- Think of ways you can weave joy and prayer together in the moment of an activity.
- Joy starts with being rightly related to Jesus. So, are you rightly related with Him?
* Portions of this content come from my book – Reach Back: Intentionally Reaching Back To God. – This is a study book that covers various topics like –
- Pausing in life.
- How to handle feelings.
- Loneliness.
- Boundaries.
- Forgiveness.
- Gratitude.
You can find this book in our bookstore: www.aliveandactivelife.org/store.
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