A Season of Joy

A number of years ago, I realized that most of the Christmas things I have bought for myself have something about joy on them: There were “Joy to the world” coffee cups and candle holders, cookie tins and signs for the wall—I’ve even been tempted by one or two “Joy” Christmas sweaters over the years.

I think I gravitate towards reminders of the joy of Christmas because that is what I most anticipate about the season. Even when I was a child, I looked forward to the joyful things of Christmas: singing carols for the elderly with my children’s choir, wrapping presents, putting in long hours in the kitchen to help with our Christmas baking (and of course eating some of what we baked), and perhaps most of all, the quiet joy of staying awake till midnight to wish each other Merry Christmas.

But there have been years when that quiet joy seemed hard to find. In fact, I read once that Christmas is a time of year when people are most prone to depression. There are some scientific reasons for that: the lack of sunlight, the effects of an extra-busy schedule full of holiday events, the poor nutrition that results from three food-heavy holidays in a row—but there is more to it than that.

I think the reason joy can seem elusive during the Christmas season is because we tend to try to manufacture the emotions we think we ought to feel, instead of stopping to consider where true joy is actually found.

Notice the joy in the Christmas accounts:

Elisabeth tells Mary: “as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ear, the babe leaped in mine womb for joy.” The unborn John the Baptist recognized the Savior, and leaped for joy in his mother’s womb. (Luke1:44)

The shepherds saw a bright light and the angel announced, “Fear not: for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

The wise men left Herod and followed the miraculous star, which stopped over the place where Jesus was. Matthew tells us, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” (2:10)

The joy of Christmas in each of these verses flows from a realization of being in the presence of our Savior.

Of course, it may have been easier to find joy in Christ’s presence when His presence was a physical reality, rather than a spiritual. But for each of us who have accepted Christ’s sacrifice for sin, the spiritual reality of Christ’s presence is every bit as real. 1 Peter 1:8-9 puts it this way:

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

We have the presence of God Himself within us, and although we do not see Christ with our eyes, we yet love Him, and experience that same joy of His presence, the joy “unspeakable and full of glory.”

But if God’s presence is where true joy is found, what do we do when He feels distant? James addresses this:

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” (4:7-8)

There is much in James 4 we could address in terms of how to draw near to God, but it really does come down to three simple things:

Submit to God

Resist the devil

Choose to draw near to God

Of course, repentance and sorrowing over sin, humility before God are part of drawing near, as the next verse in James 4 indicates, but those things will flow naturally out of submission to God—if, that is, we are humbly submitting, and not just making a show of it.

Just like the peace of God we looked at in last week’s post, the joy of God’s presence can be lacking in our lives simply because we are not taking time to acknowledge and sit in His presence. Instead, we rush off to start our day, trying to manufacture the “magic” of Christmas while ignoring the One whose presence is the very reason we celebrate.

The Christmas accounts mention several names for Christ that highlight different aspects of His nature, but the one most precious to me as I navigate the Christmas season tends to be Emmanuel, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)

Christ’s coming was a real, historical event, but His birth was only the beginning of the gift. After Christ’s ascension, God with us became God within us, as the promised Holy Spirit indwelt believers. If you have accepted Christ’s payment for your sin, you too have the Holy Spirit in you, there to guide, to help, to give you His own power and wisdom as you submit to God, resist the devil, and draw near to God.

Jesus said,

“These things have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:11)

Jesus’ own joy is what He gives us. Just like peace, joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. But unlike what the world says joy is, true joy depends not on circumstances, but on the presence of God, on our nearness to Him.

So, dear Reader, are you filled with the true joy of Christmas? Or do you need to spend some time drawing near to your Savior?

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” 

Psalm 16:11