Advent Week 3: Joy

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22)

We are swiftly heading toward Christmas day.

By now, everyone is facing the challenge of maintaining our work in the world and at home while adding all the demands of Christmas eve and morn: decorating the house inside and out, purchasing and wrapping gifts, purchasing and preparing special feast food, attending a weekday church service and making sure everything is beautiful and complete on Christmas morn when the family comes downstairs.

Without intention, our joy can wane.

If our JOY is rooted in this world, it will show. Our smiles will be less frequent and less ready, and our resting face will look despondent. Just like we must fight to keep our hope and peace in Christ, we must also fight to make sure our JOY is rooted in Him alone, so our JOY won’t wane.

This month, we are working toward the celebration of the miracle of the birth of our Savior. Jesus came to earth to show us who God is, to die for our sins, and to raise on the third day so we can confidence that the promise of eternal life sound.

Our Savior is the source of year-round joy.

Every day when we get out of bed, we already have all we need in Jesus alone. Even if the world does not cooperate with us, we already have all we need. Even if the world is kind to us and some things go our way, we still had all we needed when we woke up. God blesses us with extra in order to motivate us to keep going (James 1:2-4), to grow in our knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18), to grow in our ability to reflect Him (Romans 8:29), or just because He wants to pour on extra (Psalm 103:13)!

Joy is not found here on earth.

Let’s be real. For many people — or most people — circumstances aren’t cooperating to provide a merry Christmas. This amazing annual holiday is often ushered in alongside illness, death of loved ones, financial stress and broken relationships. Christmas can also be the most lonely time of year. We want to share the holiday with people we love, but that is not always possible. We want someone to love us, but that is also something we can’t control.

Good circumstances might not be coming your way right now, and the demands of celebration preparation remain, but let’s fight to remember that we already have all that matters — Jesus. JOY on earth is only found when the source of JOY is from God the Father, accessed through Jesus, and living in us in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the good news, and it is always good medicine for the soul.

Let’s not let anything rob us of reveling in the birth of Jesus.

Picture Explanation: An afternoon of joy, over and above what was already enough in Jesus. We think God sneaks His joy inside little toddler bodies to spread smiles around the earth. 🙂

Speaking of living a short life in the JOY of God: If you want to join the next online One Gritty Blink Bible study, click on the Oaks Ministries link in the copyright line. Check out the study in the One Gritty Blink tab, then send me an email in the Contact tab so I can place you on a list to be contacted for a future study! Let’s not just focus on things in this short life, but also what counts for eternity.

Note: No part of my posts are derived from A.I. Thoughts and writing stem from my mind and heart as I process life week-by-week and continue to grow in my understanding of God and how to apply His wisdom to the world around me.

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