Advent – Week 3

Advent is a time to reflect on the virtues JESUS brought to us of Hope, Love, Joy & Peace.

JOY

I love the word JOY. I’ve always been envious of people with the name Joy. Has a word ever seemed to mean exactly what it says in the way JOY does? Just seeing it spelled out, or saying it, makes my soul overflow with a feeling for the Lord that is hard to describe in human words. The word delight in our verse today comes close. Perhaps they are synonymous.

I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Psalm 119:16

As you hold onto the Joy thought, allow me to go back to the song from Week 1, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”. The last line says, “Thou doest ever lead Thine own, in the love of joys unknown.” I’m learning that stepping out in faith is a precursor to Joy. The two are intertwined.

The ways to true joy are unknown to us. We look for joy by getting the things we want. But the Lord knows only He can fill our hearts with true Joy. So when we come to Him in faith we can start to understand the soul-filled Joy that only He can impart to the human heart. The Lord has brought great JOY to my heart from knowing Him more deeply this last year.

Each of us is on our own life journey for whatever number of years the Lord gives us. In Mary’s case, her life took a significant turn at a very young age when she exercised faith by yielding her heart to accept the news from the Angel that she would bear a child with the help of the Holy Spirit. I encountered many twists and turns in my life that required my faith to grow. The more I trusted God with my life, the more He filled my heart with Joy. The beautiful Song of Mary in Luke 1:46-55 shows how her faith turned into JOY [My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.]