A Joy for All Circumstances
This is our final week of the Advent season. Can you believe it? This season always goes by fast, but this year felt particularly quick. It has been an absolute joy (pun intended) to dive into these Advent themes with you all.
We’ve looked at how Advent hope is completely unshakeable. We’ve seen Advent peace is not just a fleeting tranquility, but is an eternal and unmerited peace with God. And last week we looked at how perfect and incomprehensible Advent love is.
Our last theme is Advent joy. Any guesses on what this looks like?
Is it found in an evening of Christmas movies with friends, drinking hot chocolate?
Is it found when you cut down your Christmas tree with zero meltdowns from the kids, or when you take it home to decorate and admire it while drinking hot chocolate?
Is joy found in children running into the living room on Christmas morning, delightfully opening their presents while the parents watch with full hearts as they drink hot chocolate?
Is it drinking hot chocolate?
As wonderful as all of these things are, no. Advent joy is not in any of those things simply because each of these examples is based on circumstances. The feeling we equate with joy in each of these scenarios is dependent on everything lining up. Your friend could be in a bad mood and ruin your Christmas movie marathon. The magic of cutting down that tree that was so perfect covered in snow can be stolen when you get it inside your house and see that it actually rivals Charlie Brown’s. Christmas morning present opening can be disappointing, fueled by ungrateful attitudes from kids and is always a lot messier than our nostalgia lets on.
No, Advent joy isn’t based on our circumstances. It isn’t ruined when plans fall apart. It isn’t stolen in this fallen world. It isn’t lost in seasons of depression. And it doesn’t end on December 26th.
The joy we celebrate during the Advent season is a result of God’s rescue plan for his people. This joy we can cling to in all circumstances is found in the salvation of our souls.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, or you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter1:8-9
Jesus, the second person of the trinity, fully God, left his throne to take on humanity. Because of his birth, because of his life and because of his death, his people have been saved. The salvation of our souls is a gift unlike any other. We deserved an eternity apart from God because of our sin, but God, in his mercy and because of his love, offers an eternity with him. Our salvation is so unbelievable it causes angels to marvel (1 Peter 1:12).
But this joy is not a one time event we experience when God saves us. It is a strength and encouragement we can carry with us into any and all circumstances.
"Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4
“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18
No one and nothing can take away the joy we have in Christ (John 16:22). Because he has saved us, we can walk through every trial joyfully. Because he is coming back, we can face every season of life with joy. Because our perfect God condescended from his throne to be born into human flesh and become the perfect sacrifice for our sins, our lives can be marked by an inexpressible joy.
This doesn’t mean we’re always happy. This doesn’t mean life is rosy and easy. But it does mean that no matter what we face, no matter the valleys we walk through, no matter the hardships, or tragedies, or sadness we experience, our joy in the Lord remains.
You may be reading this from a place of absolute contentment, ready to ‘amen’ at every encouragement to rejoice. You may be reading this from a place of absolute brokenness where any sense of joy feels fake. If I’m honest, I’m writing out this week’s series of devotions completely sleep deprived and worn out because our youngest likes to do his rejoicing two-three times a night. My jolly Christmas spirit is waning into survival mode. But wherever you and I find ourselves, we can truly rejoice. Not because it’s easy. Not because our life isn’t heavy. But because in the midst of our struggles, our trials, and our tears, we can cling to the glorious truth that God has sent his Son to save our souls.
And that is the incredible source of our joy that remains through all circumstances.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13
