Advent Devotional: Week 3-Joy
The weekly prompts follow along with the Church calendar and our Sunday morning Advent messages. These are meant to focus our hearts on Jesus in our day-to-day lives rather than the fears and anxieties that can weigh us down.
Joy: The good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as we behold Jesus in the Word and the world.
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10
“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” Psalm 16:8-9
The people who are with us can quickly change how we experience an event. Walking down a dark street alone is an entirely different experience than walking down that same street with a group of friends. One may think that this good news would cause great joy only as a one-time reaction to the angel’s announcement. But the good news was not a broadcast or bill-board, rather it was the coming of a person, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus Himself was the cause of the great joy released upon all people.
We often connect our joy in life with our circumstances. The Israelites had this same struggle. Their assumption was that the Messiah would be great because He would reverse their circumstances of oppression from the Romans. But God had something far greater in store.
Through the coming of Jesus and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we now have Emmanuel every moment of our lives. This new reality makes it possible for us to live in fullness of joy, unshaken and secure in all circumstances because we know who is walking down the street with us.
PRAY: Lord Jesus, in this moment I choose to slow down and behold that You are with me. Thank You that the joy in my soul is not contingent on external circumstances working according to my “master plan.” Help me to see that You are with me as I move throughout the rest of my day, as I sleep, and into my week. I ask for the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of joy in my life as I make space to behold You. Amen.
REFLECT: What is one area of your life where your joy has been contingent on an outcome, rather than God’s presence with you?