“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great JOY for all the people.” –Luke 2:10
Christmas brings lights, music, and gatherings that make many people feel happy—and happiness is a good, God-given gift. But happiness is often tied to circumstances: a warm fire, a present under the tree, time with family. Those things can lift our spirits, and we should thank God for them. The Bible, however, calls us to something deeper and more durable than circumstantial happiness.
Last week we lit the third advent candle that represents the joy of Christmas—not joy that comes and goes like happiness. The joy the angels speak of in Luke 2, is deeper, more secure, and more resilient. Biblical joy is rooted not in what is happening to us, but in who is with us. Christmas joy flows from the truth of Emmanuel—God with us.
The joy the angel speaks of did not come because the world had suddenly become peaceful or because life was suddenly easy. Rome still ruled, poverty still existed, and hardship still surrounded them. Yet joy entered the world because God had drawn near. The Savior was born. Emmanuel had come. Their joy was not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God in the midst of it.
This is why Paul in Philippians 4:4 was able to write while imprisoned: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” He doesn’t say rejoice in your circumstances, but rejoice in the Lord. Joy is possible because Emmanuel is not seasonal or situational. God is with us in hospital rooms and holiday gatherings, in seasons of celebration and in moments of sorrow. Christian joy is the confidence that we are never alone, never forgotten, and never beyond God’s reach.
Jesus Himself speaks of this joy when He tells His disciples in John 15:11: “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” The joy of Christmas is not something we manufacture—it’s something we receive because Christ abides with us. It’s the fruit of the Spirit, cultivated in our lives as we remain close to the One who came to us.
As we reflect on Emmanuel this Advent season, the invitation is not to force cheerfulness, but to rest in God’s nearness. The joy of Christmas grows when we slow down enough to recognize that God is with us right where we are. Like the shepherds, we are invited to come and see, to worship, and then to carry joy into the world around us. Emmanuel is not just the reason for our joy—He is our joy.
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