Good News and Great Joy

Advent Week 3 – JOY

By Mike Main

Luke 2:10

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that shall be for all the people.” 

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

James 1:2-4 (ESV)

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.

Good News and Great Joy

By Mike Main

“Our joy is found in, and based upon, the solid rock that is Jesus…”

“Choose joy!”  Certainly, this is one of those well-meaning aphorisms Christians speak at one another, often inwardly leaving the hearer less than comforted.  If “joy” is a feeling—that is, something I am subject to, but not necessarily lord over—then how do I “choose joy?”  

All too often, in my carnal mind, I have been inclined to experience joy as a feeling.  An ethereal and fragile thing that can often seem skittish and downright fickle.  Really, it’s relatively easy, even for the most ill-tempered among us, to be joyful when things are going our way.   I know I can be pretty darn joyful when all I see is blue sky and sunshine.  However, it’s when the inevitable and existential challenges of living rain all over my sunny day, that I question, or even resent the well-intentioned “Choose joy, brother!”  My flesh no longer gratified; my sense of joy seems to quickly evaporate.  

So, what does it mean then, to choose joy?  Here is what I have discovered so far.  Joy is not optional–at least not for the believer.  When I first heard that, I was surprised and more than a little skeptical.  In fact, I spent many years in that ignorance, following the flesh instead and experiencing an on-again, off-again relationship with joy.  

Thankfully, our God is full of mercy and grace, and He has patiently allowed me to finally come around to asking the right question: what does the Word say?  In Galatians chapter 5, the fruits of the Spirit are listed in this order: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  (Incidentally, if love is the greatest commandment, and joy is listed next in this list, I am going to conjecture that joy is significant.)  This means that, if the Holy Spirit resides within us—within me—then joy is made manifest based upon that holy presence and not our/my physical circumstances, etc.  In fact, during challenging times, the first chapter of James directs us to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”  A tall order for sure if I am only operating in the flesh.

As believers, we can look to God’s Word and see the assurance that the Holy Spirit does, in fact, reside within us.  (See 1 Corinthians 12, Acts 2, Mark 1, 2 Timothy 14, 1 Peter 1 for starters).  Through this assurance, along with the imperative to choose joy–from God, this time–we can then begin to experience joy in its pure and wholesome form.  Not carnal victories masquerading as joy, nor trials and tribulations seeking to steal, kill and destroy our joy.  Our joy is found in, and based upon, the solid rock that is Jesus, and his work in our lives.  Now that is a reason to be joyful, indeed–and something to reflect upon as we approach the “season of joy!”

Reflection: 

Have you subscribed to the world’s view of joy?  Have you found joy to be elusive; to be a fair-weather friend?  Take this opportunity to contemplate Jesus and what he has done by, through and for you.  Make a conscious decision to consider Jesus as the source for your joy—to choose His joy.  Feel free to intentionally make this decision as often as you need to, until it has become your view of joy.  

My prayer for today:

Father, I want to thank you.
Thank you that it is you who is the author and finisher of every good work, and in that, I may take comfort and joy.
Thank you that, in your word, you said there would be peace; peace between you and me, through Jesus.
Whose birth in a manger would, in time, reconcile me to you.
Thank you that the day we celebrate that birth is fast approaching.
I ask that the joy of this season would be found in me, and that I would be able to share that joy with others.
Father, you are the source of my joy, and I thank you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.