Joy

As the famous Christmas song puts it, "Joy to the world, the Lord has come.  Let Earth receive her King."  Ang and I have been talking a lot about joy lately - seems to be a recurring theme for us and one for me that begun at our Christmas Eve service a couple of weeks ago.  Our pastor was talking about how the Enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, BUT Christ came to give us life and more abundantly.  I am amazed at how quickly I forget.  I am silly and so preoccupied with what new thing I need to know and figure out that sometimes I wish I just remembered the simple things - that Christ's purpose was to give me life - and you as well.  The kind of joy that I am considering this morning is born from choice not circumstances, the source stems from the great reservoir of our soul being constantly refreshed by the Holy Spirit and the outpouring of goodness that so defines life with Christ. 

The things I lack so restrict my line of sight to Christ that I often underestimate how much I have right now.  Perhaps now more than ever I find myself longing for the next thing but in an unhealthy way - I strive like a child to GET something (meaning, happiness, satisfaction, truth) instead of asking my Father and trusting He will provide.  I struggle and strive instead of resting and trusting and I am left exhausted, disgusted, and frustrated because the Lord's lack of apparent provision is really my own inability to get out of the way.  This is exactly where joy enters the equation for me.  Joy, firmly entrenched in the character of God, has the uncanny ability to sustain hope in the hearts of believers.  I say it must be entrenched in His character because I often connect joy to circumstance not character.  Circumstances shift and change - the character of God does not.  God has been pouring out his blessings on Ang and I over these past couple of months and I am re-learning to find my joy in His desire and ability to provide instead of the provision itself.  The blessing is not contained merely in the unexpected money that arrived - the fullness of the blessing is that God cares so intricately about our lives that He would choose to enter in and provide. 

The physical blessing (money in this case) meets our physical need, which is very real and important, but God's desire to enter in and provide reveals His great and merciful love, which speaks to deeper and even more critical questions...Am I loved?  Does God see me?  Will things ever turn around?  God's willingness to provide now convinces me He will choose to do so again and again and this fact brings me joy.  Joy seated in the character of God - my Jehovah Jireh as He is called in the Old Testament - my provider whose grace is sufficient for me.  Oh so sufficient!

Christmas always reminds me of one key truth...Emmanuel, "Christ with us."  Christ chose to come, to enter the world weak and defenseless as a small baby, in order to be with us.  Christmas is the time for us to remember that God, who could have completed His work anyway he pleases, decided it would please Him most to come and be with us.  That gives me great joy and hope both now and in the days ahead.