On the way to Sunday ... Advent

I am already tired of all the commercials, all the music, all the sales, all the Fa-la-la-la-la of the season.  It really isn't hard to imagine why Scrooge muttered, "Bah! Humbug!"  

If we are honest I believe many of us lost our Fa-la-la-la-la a La-long time ago.  It really isn’t hard to lose your joy in this world we live in and it is especially easy to lose your joy in this Christmas season.  The messages we are bombarded with daily rob us of our joy and send us in endless directions seeking joy.

Since the beginning of time, mankind has searched just about everywhere in hopes of finding joy in their lives.  Today, most people are trying to find joy in something or someone outside of themselves.  But what exactly does God have to say about this quest for joy? Is it possible that our Heavenly Father placed joy onto the very fiber of our being? 

I believe God gave us each a shot at experiencing joy.  After all we are His most beloved creation.  The problem is that as humans we search for joy in all the wrong places.  Therefore what we receive is just a sporadic sampling, a mere fraction of the real deal, a clever counterfeit of genuine joy.  We look outside – not inside.  The secret to a joy filled life is so close, so obvious, that inside is the last place we look.  We search everywhere but within.  

We all want something more from our lives in some way or another.  We live in a society that is bent on highlighting what is wrong with just about everything.  Good news does not make the front page.  A 70 percent chance of sunshine is expressed as a 30 percent chance of rain.  We are not immune in the church.  We walk out of church on Sunday mornings like Entertainment critics, discussing what we liked or didn’t like rather than considering what God was trying to say to us through the message or music.  Kids bring home grade cards with As, Bs, and C, and we discuss how the lower grades can improve as if the better grades didn’t exist.  Given enough time, we can find fault with just about anything. We constantly put the Spotlight in the wrong place. What if it didn’t have to be that way?


Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.                                                I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Living with joy is our birthright.  It is God’s intention that we be joyful as His children. Being joy-filled does not mean that your life is perfect.  Who would claim that?  It doesn’t mean that your life is great.  What it does mean is that you emphatically trust God and believe that He has great plans for your life, regardless of what is happening right now.  Joy is infectious and uncontainable.  Joy is an outward sign of an inward faith in the promises of God.  

Try letting a little joy into your life this week.  Hum a song. Smile every now and then. If you are still having a hard time, join us Sunday morning.

I'll see you then .... I'll be the one humming a joyful song.