Introduction to Joy
The third week in Advent we focus on
JOY. Like love last week,
JOY is another one of those words that gets overused. Most
often we use JOY to describe when we are happy.
Earn an A on a test… JOY.
Eat a piece of chocolate… JOY.
Hug a friend… JOY.
Get a new puppy… JOY.
According to the dictionary, JOY does mean “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” But in the Bible, the word JOY takes on a deeper meaning. JOY isn’t just our good feeling when everything is going right. It is our hope knowing that God is in control. He loves us and will keep his promises to us.
Tim Mackie and Jon Collins of The Bible Project say it this way, “Joy is an attitude God’s people adopt not because of happy circumstances but because of their hope in God’s love and promise.”
God is good all the time. All the time God is good. And that is the source of our JOY.
Traditionally the third week of Advent is reserved for discussing the shepherds-- and the angels don’t make an appearance until week four. However, we are going to begin the nativity story today with the angel Gabriel appearing to Zechariah and will then follow the story in chronological order for the next two weeks.
