Luke 2:8-11 “That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!”
While joy is usually associated with births, there was something about the birth of Jesus Christ that created a special joy. This joy was available, not just for a few family members and friends, but for the whole world, for time immemorial.
One of the favorite songs of the Christmas season reflects the angel’s birth announcement to the shepherds, “Joy to the world the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.” Why did the angel of the Lord proclaim such joy at the Jesus’ birth?
The coming of Jesus makes available to us a relationship with the Source of joy. In a dark world, percolating with bad news and threatening potential; in the dark moments of life, when facing hard times and tough trials, we need something to sustain us. We need genuine joy to get us through—not superficial substitutes, but a real, deep, abiding, Holy Spirit-inspired sense that everything is going to be okay.
Christmas is about receiving more than a temporary fix of happiness; it is about a relationship with the King of Joy-Jesus Christ. It is about having and living in a supernatural joy that supersedes our circumstances and strengthens us; spirit, soul and body.
During this Christmas season, welcome the King of Joy into your heart again. Let the sunlight of His joy drive your dark clouds away
PRAYER
Lord, just as the angel proclaimed the great joy of your birth, let us experience the joy of your coming. Forgive us for allowing the darkness of the world and trials of life to cloud the joy found in you. Restore to us the joy of our salvation this Christmas, and help us share this joy with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
