Joy- The Third Sunday in Advent

Joy- The Third Sunday in Advent 

​Before we dive into the numerous verses that talk about joy, we have to establish an understanding of biblical joy. It goes far beyond momentary happiness. Like the happiness a child might experience when they unwrap a gift that they’d hoped for on Christmas day. It is an extreme happiness that cannot be deterred by present circumstances. This type of joy comes from God alone. Joy can often be experienced when a Christian thinks about salvation, eternal life, or Jesus.  It is an eager anticipation about wonderful things to come. The shepherds experienced this as they ran to Bethlehem to see Jesus. With the definition of joy established, let’s dive into what Scripture says about joy:

• God fills us with joy (Romans 15:13). We cannot will ourselves to experience joy. It comes from God alone.Happiness is an emotion that can disappear as quickly as it rises to the surface. Joy, however, is a choice. We have a choice. God gives us a joy that is unconquerable. We can choose to live in an attitude of resentment, anger and fear or we can choose to pursue the joy of Christ

• It’s a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We experience more joy when we spend time with God. We have to keep in mind that joy only comes from God, but when we spend more time with him, we allow him to fill us with it.

• No one can take joy from us (John 16:22). Given to us by God himself, no one has the ability to rob us of our joy. No matter what circumstances we encounter, no one can take this away.

• Joy rests in things from God such as salvation and righteousness (Psalm 51:12).

• Joy is celebrating when you want to fear. What's the first thing angels say to mortals? It's standard protocol. In just about every divine encounter the angels say: "Fear not." I can hear Jesus instruct His most trusted angels. "OK, let's go over this again ... Most of the people that I'll tell you to speak to will be scared out of their wits! So let's practice the greeting one more time." Then the angels would all say in unison, "Fear not."

Why Does This Matter? Why can we be Joyful? 

​This matters because, while we wait for Christ to come again, we don’t have to despair. God has given us a joy that no one can take away. No matter what happens in this dark world, we can experience light. We experience difficulties differently than the world. We have light even in the darkest moments. Joy is essential to the Christian experience. We cannot get far without it, and we need it as we, like the shepherds, anticipate the coming of our Savior. The message is clear. God is not looking for ways to scare us into faith. He drew near to us to relieve the worries we have about crossing over the divide between heaven and earth. He wants you to know that He's going to take care of you no matter what happens. One of the names that He was called long before he ever stepped on this world's stage was Immanuel meaning "God with us." No matter what you go through we can whisper this simple truth: "Jesus is with me." Think about it. He is with you in your greatest victories and your most humiliating defeats. Jesus is with you at all times in all things.