Finding Joy

I was recently at a church Christmas pageant that my sister was performing in. We all took our place in the back of the auditorium, hoping that we would be in and out in no more than 10 minutes, but it ended up being almost an hour. And not only was it longer than we had anticipated, but the message was on the topic of joy which meant complaining would be counterproductive. How can you complain when you are watching a show about finding joy in difficult situations?

Eventually, the show ended and we headed out, but since that show, I have been thinking about joy and what it means for us not only during the Christmas season but what it looks like when all of the "magic" ends on December 26th. I decided to turn to the bible to see if there were any passages that would help bring clarity.

"But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” -Luke 2: 10-12

"Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem." -Isaiah 52: 9

Although we celebrate Christ's coming every year, it doesn't make the story and the significance any less important. Every year we are reminded that God's joy or true joy is never what we expect it to be. The world was expecting a king, a great messiah, a military leader that would free the Jewish people from Rome's tyranny, but God appeared in the smallest of places as the smallest of people.

Jesus did not come to transform the world, he came to transform our hearts and to offer a joy that we would never be able to find ourselves. Joy was not in the Laws or the history like many Jews believed, it was not in worldly desires and human achievement, like the Romans believed. It was in a tiny helpless infant born to the poorest of parents into a world that even before he was born, rejected him.

There is no formula for joy, no clear cut "cause and effect": the only thing I have learned in my short life is that God moves in the most unexpected ways. He uses people that are not necessarily qualified, he uses places that aren't necessarily ready, and he moves in ways that no one could ever see coming. The only way to live in joy is to live in response and to hold fast to the amazingly good news that Jesus came in the humblest of ways and conquered in the most epic way possible.

When life seems unbearable we are reminded that Jesus understands. The Jews wanted a sign of power and strength: a military leader that would set them free. But God sent them a baby, a sign of humility and vulnerability. God didn't send Jesus to free us from worldly powers, he came to free us from the world itself and to offer a peace that passes all understanding. (Phil. 4: 7-9)

I challenge us all to live this Christmas season in response. To see every struggle as an opportunity and to embrace the unexpected. Because who knows? That unbearable Christmas pageant might just be God working wonders in your life.