Joy to the World

Advent Week 3–JOY

By Kaitlyn Klippert

🎶Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing. 

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! 
Let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness
and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, wonders of His love.🎶 _{—”Joy to the World”, by Isaac Watts}

Isaiah 12:6

Shout aloud and sing for Joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Luke 2:10

But the angel said to them: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people”. 

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Joy to the World

By Kaitlyn Klippert

Picture it with me: the most joyful day of your life. For some, this could be the day your child was born. For others, a special family memory, or the day you chose God over everything else. My most joyful day so far was the day of my wedding. I was overwhelmed with joy that not only was I marrying my best friend, but we were surrounded by our favorite people in the world, all in one place. It was surreal. I may not feel that same sense of overwhelming joy on this side of Heaven again, but I know I’ll never forget what it felt like. 

Many of us can relate to this kind of feeling, this kind of joy. It takes our breath away, it’s seared into our minds, and it may even linger for quite a while. We may anticipate this kind of joy when thinking about events to come. We may yearn for it, think about it, and plan around it. Maybe most importantly, we want to tell other people about whatever brings us that joy. 

When I got married, I wanted to show off the ring and tell everyone about it. When my nephew was born, our family was so excited to share the news with all of our friends. When we experience joy, we want to share it. For this week of Advent, we are focusing on the joy that the birth of Jesus brought. When Jesus was born, news of His birth spread across the region: the Savior of the world was born in Bethlehem. This was good news! 

Each year as we anticipate His birth, we come eager to spread this good news. Jesus and His birth are the essence of joy, and when we search for joy in our own lives, we search for Him. Jesus came and brought joy not only to His earthly parents, but He brought it to all peoples of all nations. Did you read that? It means that His joy isn’t just for our pastors, for our friends whose lives are going perfectly, or for people in other parts of the world. It’s for all of those people, and you and me. His joy is for all of us, and every Advent we get to celebrate that incredible gift.  

Let’s Reflect: 

Think about your life this past year. What has brought you joy this year? Thank Him for those things. Would you like to experience more joy this coming year? Ask Him for what you need.

Let’s Pray: 

Father, we thank you for your blessing on this Earth: Jesus Christ. We are grateful that Jesus truly brings joy to the world. Help us yearn for the joy that comes in trusting You. Strengthen us, that we may shout the good news from the rooftop: Jesus is Lord, the joy of the world! Let Earth receive her King. Amen.