Repeat the Sounding Joy
Keep Choosing Joy
The Christmas season has always been magical and mysterious to me. The stories of people connected to the incarnation are intriguing. And the coming of Jesus—an extremely joyful event—remains joyful right alongside longing and loss, in spite of disappointment and doubt, and shines even in the darkness of despair.
The incarnation is a world of mystery—meaning it is both forever beyond our knowing AND a place of endless discovery.
God’s goodness and love,
God’s faithfulness and justice,
God’s wrath and mercy,
God’s laws and creativity,
God’s redemption and rescue and relationship to us.
We can spend all our lives following Jesus, getting to know Him better and better, and still be surprised and amazed by Him.
There is no end to the wonder and joy we can find in Jesus. There is an end to some of the wonder and joy we feel as children experiencing magic in this world—like the magic of Christmas. We grow out of that wonder in many ways. But there is never an end to the wonder we can discover and experience with God.
And this is true despite the pain and sorrow in our lives. Sin, sickness, and the sufferings of being mortal in a broken, groaning world still come to the followers of Jesus.
But we do not grieve like those without hope, we do not suffer like those without eternal perspective, we do not lose and fail without also knowing that God will bring us gain and glory despite our sin and shame. Even more, we have Emmanuel—God with us. No matter what.
We do not walk alone through doubt and dark places, and we ultimately return to joy and meaning after our seasons of pain and loss. There is beauty that comes from the ashes. There is joy, many times, even amid the ashes, if we are in a place to receive it. Beyond all this, we will have perfect and complete joy after this life is over and we are fully in the Kingdom of Jesus forever. Right now, we have pieces and places of joy to carry us through.
It starts with believing this is true and choosing to seek the joy God is providing here and now. Two easy places to start are simple, sensory joys and Jesus Himself.
Consider the of the created world—the sights, sounds, tactile sensations, scents, and tastes to savor—what good gifts has God given to you in these? These come easily to mind for me:
Sunlight in all its forms.
Squirrels in our backyard.
Christmas songs.
Savory stews and sweet Christmas cookies.
The soft fur of our cat.
Consider Jesus—when I look at Jesus, I am always amazed at how He many ways He loves me. The depth and richness of His goodness and His creativity continue to astound me, though I’ve known Him for decades. And when I focus on and remind myself of the power and creativity of God, which brings beauty and order and meaning to my life, it shifts my perspective. I shift from anxiety and despair to confidence and curiosity—what will Jesus do now? The wonder and anticipation give me courage to look for and embrace the joy of the Lord, to welcome joys big and small, joys sensory and spiritual, joys in the routine and the remarkable.
As followers of Jesus—who went to the cross because of the joy on the other side—we can all follow Him in this practice focusing on the joy. It may be a daily or even hourly struggle at times, but it is not out of reach for any of us.
We can encourage one another in hard places.
We can hold one another up and believe for each other.
We can give space for one another’s pain without giving into despair.
We can repeat the sounding joy to one another.
Because the joy of the Lord is our strength.
This joy is available alongside the heartaches,
this joy can keep company with disappointments and doubts,
this joy is still shining through the longings and losses.
There is still more joy for us, because there is no end to the wonder and joy we can find in Jesus.
Consider & Comment
What every day experiences bring you joy?
What aspects of Advent have been bringing you joy?
How does Jesus show His love to you, specifically?
How can you repeat the sounding joy?
