Advent 2019: Day 19 – Joy in the Everyday

Wow, are our lives busy! Especially during this time of year! Gift buying/wrapping/giving, caroling, parties and get-togethers, travel, school, homework, projects, last minute work items, traffic, cooking, cleaning, … shall I go on?  LOL!  We have a LOT to do.  And it isn’t just during Christmas and the holidays.  Each season brings different things to do.  Sometimes, although we are doing a lot, we have a hard time finding the joy in what we are doing.

Is it that we have too much to do?  Maybe. However, I have found that we can have a very calm schedule and still miss out on the joy.  And that is because joy comes from the Holy Spirit.  Joy doesn’t come from busyness or non-busyness. It comes from God.  If we are missing out on joy, we need to look to Jesus and determine where we are missing the mark.  After all, God wants to give us joy, so it is to Him we must look in order to get it.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 

Romans 15:13 ESV

 

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

 

John 16:24 ESV

 

We have but to ask in order to receive.  Have you asked?  When you asked, did you listen?  The listening part is key.  When we listen to God, we hear his answer.  He may tell us to make changes; he may affirm what we are doing; or any other myriad of answers.  If we listen, he will answer.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

 

1 John 5:14 ESV

 

But you may be thinking that there is nothing in your life to be joyful about, or that God would not find joy in anything in your life.  How wrong you are!

God finds joy in his creation, and his creation includes mortals!

 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 

Matthew 6:28-29 ESV

 

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

 

Genesis 1:31 ESV

 

We make God joyful when we believe in him.

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

 

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

 

His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

 

Psalm 147:10-11 ESV

 

All of heaven rejoices when someone comes to faith.

“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Luke 15:10 ESV

 

You see, every time someone comes to faith and every time someone chooses to follow the Bible, God and the angels rejoice.  We can rejoice in those same things!  Every time you see your child choose the right way, have joy!  Every time you choose to hold your tongue instead of berating your spouse, have joy!  Every time you see justice win, have joy!  Take the time, even if it is just a moment, to thank God and give praise for these things.  You may even show the praise to the other person if they are the cause for the momentary joy.  By doing that, you are able to share joy.

When we start looking for the little things, we will find that our joy will expand.  It is true that some days it is almost impossible to find the joy here on earth.  Those are the days that we focus on the joy that comes from what Jesus did for us. He left heaven, came to earth, faced earthly trials and tribulations, then faced death on a cross so that we could one day be with him forever in heaven.

On days you are struggling to see the positive and are missing out on joy, stop and think about what Jesus has done for you.  Start praising and rejoicing for that alone.  You will find that the joy you are missing soon fills you up.

 

The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad

 

Psalm 118:24 NIV