Joy of God
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord,’ (Luke 2:10-11)
Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. The time where it is easiest to manifest the love of God through us as you may have already read in last week’s post (Lovin’ Christmas). The Christmas story is one of my absolute favorites from the Bible because there is so much going on - so many intense emotions like anticipation, excitement, and joy. Wow - JOY. I’ve never really thought about that but reflecting on the Christmas story today, I realize the foundational emotion, the one at the core of everything to do with Christmas, is JOY.
There was nothing particularly special about that night. There was a census happening, and so lots of people were in a small town that weren’t normally there, but still - this wasn’t the first census ever taken in the history of the world. Everyone was just living their life with no indication the world was about to change forever. Yet, I imagine that somehow the atmosphere was charged, and those who stopped for a moment might have felt it even if they couldn’t name it - JOY was in the air. The JOY of God manifested in an infant about to be born.
Travel with me six months before this night, and see the scene in Elizabeth’s house when Mary arrives. Mary walks in the door calling out a greeting, and her cousin Elizabeth, pregnant with a son in her “old age,” (whatever THAT means) comes to see who it is. Elizabeth immediately knows Mary is pregnant even though it’s too soon for outward evidence, and so does the baby Elizabeth is carrying.
“But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for JOY,” (Luke 1:43-44). Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist, tasked with announcing the coming Messiah, began his ministry before he was even born, and what prompted him was JOY.
Return to the night of Jesus’ birth. It was so momentous that heaven itself couldn’t contain the JOY of what was about to happen. The angels appeared to the shepherds (symbolic on so many levels) and told them not to be afraid (yeah - a good lead when all of a sudden, a multitude of supernatural beings appear). Most important, though, is the angels announced that what was happening at that moment would cause “great JOY for ALL the people,” (Luke 2:10-11).
This JOY, and the joy that is the Fruit of the Spirit, is the JOY of God, and because it comes from Him, it is not like any other joy we experience.
It is the kind of JOY David, the Shepherd King, spoke about in the Psalms:
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with JOY in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand,” (Psalm 16:11).
“Restore to me the JOY of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me,” (Psalm 51:12).
This JOY is the promise of God.
It is the promise of God when we mourn: “Weeping may last through the night, but rejoicing (JOY) comes in the morning,” (Psalm 30:5).
When we worship God through fellowship: “Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength,” (Nehemiah 8:10).
When we confess who our God is and what He has done: “For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for JOY at what your hands have done,” (Psalm 92:4).
When we trust God to take care of us and have complete control over every situation we find ourselves in because He alone has saved us: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. With JOY you will draw water from the wells of salvation,” (Isaiah 12:2-3).
When we have troubles, as Jesus said we would: “Consider it pure JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance,” (James 1:2-3).
It is the promise of God from Joshua 1:5: “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you,” that sent Jesus to the cross as God planned all along.
This night, with the birth of Jesus, a new covenant was forged. A covenant of restoration - restoration of the JOY of God in us.
Just like all the other Fruits of the Spirit, JOY needs proper cultivation. JOY is the gift of the Holy Spirit. “At that time Jesus, full of JOY through the Holy Spirit said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do,’ (Luke 10:21). Because it is the JOY of God given through the Holy Spirit, we know it by listening to God and obeying Him. “I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be complete,” (John 15:11).
When we are filled with the JOY of God through the Holy Spirit, our actions reflect it.
JOY mobilized the women at the tomb: “So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with JOY, and ran to tell his disciples,” (Matthew 28:8).
JOY convicted a gentile jailer and everyone who lived with him after he witnessed the power of God: “The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with JOY because he had come to believe in God - he and his whole household,” (Acts 16:34).
JOY drove Paul’s need to communicate with the early churches even while in jail: “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with JOY,” (Philippians 1:4).
JOY was spoken in every word Jesus said: “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my JOY within them,” (John 17:13).
The JOY of God is a fruit that can be hard to grow correctly because the world’s version of joy and happiness is not God’s version. It’s like having a bowl of wax fruit that looks so real that you bite into it. For those who don’t know God, they don’t even realize they’re eating wax. But for the children of God, we recognize His JOY when it comes because it is God Real. It is what we hold onto when times are hard - the JOY of knowing everything here is temporary, but back home with our Father, it’s forever - and what we celebrate when times are wonderful.
Every year I imagine that night. Crisp, cool air - quiet - peaceful - suddenly angels in the sky announcing with JOY of their own the birth of the King - and Mary holding her new baby and seeing the face of Emmanuel, “God WITH us.” I am filled with JOY at the hope His birth brings, and the love Jesus has for me that He was born to die on the cross for MY sins. I am reminded I am a part of this covenant of restoration…
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the JOY set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart,” (Hebrews 12:1-3).
I commit myself again to being about my Father’s business saturated in the JOY wrapped up in The Truth.
JOY wrapped up in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
AMEN
