Yesterday was the third Sunday of Advent. So far we have talked about hope and peace. If we had been able to attend services yesterday, we may have spoken of joy. Not that we didn’t have joy; we did, just not at church.
We had a wee snowstorm Saturday night and woke up to temperatures around fifteen on Sunday. Services were canceled. We stayed home, ate together, and watched movies all day. We didn’t have fancy food. We stayed dressed in our home clothes–the ones you hope nobody else sees. LOL Yet, there was joy.
What is it about that word? If we find a shirt or coffee mug or wrapping paper with the word “joy” on it, we say it is for christmas. which, makes me ask, why not January 1? Why not February 15 or August 3? Simply put, if God had not sent His Son into the world–whatever day it happened to fall on–then there would be no joy. If God had not spoke into the darkness and created light, there would be no joy.
“The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor” (Esther 8:16.
Yet, during the joyful first night of the holiday of Hanukkah last night, many Jews did not have joy. Instead, horror and sorrow because of someone who wanted to destroy.
Even as I celebrate the Messiah’s first coming, my prayer is simply this: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” Psalm 51:12).
In the midst of tragedy, famine, fear, hunger, despair, and grief there can be joy, because joy does not depend on a momentary happening. It does not come from a thing–it comes from the Creator who made us. “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Our God sings to us, He joys over us, and not just in December.
As you contemplate what joy means to you during these last two weeks of 2025, remember this: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).
May you find joy in His presence this day and everyday.
Shannon Wells 