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For the third week of Advent, we focus on how we can experience the real joy of Christ. Happiness and joy are both responses to stimuli in our lives. Happiness is circumstantial and fleeting; it comes and goes. Joy is lasting and not based on circumstances, but on truth. A few years ago, a famous TV organizer would ask her clients if a shirt or picture “sparked joy” in them. In retrospect, this seems so silly. How can a material item create joy? It can’t. She should have asked if the item sparked happiness. Things that once made us very happy can lose their savor in us. Think of your favorite junk food as a kid—how does it make you feel now? If we look to “things” to fill our lives with contentment, we are doomed to be disappointed. What am I basing my day-to-day emotional state on? Are there things that I crave that are driving negative habits or emotions?
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“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” – Colossians 3:2
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In contrast, joy is a response to a reality that we already experience. We experience joy because we dwell on the beauty of a new baby. We find joy in the long years of a faithful marriage. We know joy because we have been given peace by Jesus. You cannot buy joy. Take a minute and meditate on the great goodness we have because of Jesus. We have been freed from the power of sin, delivered from the pain of death, and called to be part of God’s family. God loves us. He enjoys us. The basis of our joy is God and this cannot be taken away. We can experience joy in good times and in trials. Man can’t take our joy. What is the difference between joy and happiness? How can I dwell on joy instead of pursue happiness?
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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
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If we want to experience joy, we have a part to play. While we cannot create the source of joy in ourselves—after all, we didn’t save ourselves but experience God because of his lavish grace—our part is to taste the joy we already have. We must take the time to savor the incredible grace of God. Tasting is involuntary. If you put a Christmas cookie in your mouth, you can take a moment to savor the sweetness, feel the crumb on your tongue, and linger on the floral vanilla flavor. You can also ignore it and cram another cookie in to satiate your hunger. God has gifted us everything. We are a blessed people who have every reason to rejoice. The word joy is the root of both enjoy and rejoice. We enjoy God and our relationship with him. We rejoice outwardly in the work of God in our life. How can I enjoy God and his work in my life? How can I rejoice in the beauty of the gospel?
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“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” – Psalm 34:8
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For Further Study:
Read Isaiah 9:2-7. Isaiah prophecies about the coming savior.
For Prayer:
Pray for those in the foster system and the people who faithfully work in this difficult world.