Monday: Luke 1:39-45
Tuesday: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Wednesday: Psalm 126
Thursday: Luke 1:46b-55
Friday: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
Saturday: Isaiah 55
The birth of a child in a family is cause for great rejoicing. But the celebration doesn’t just begin the moment the baby is born. It usually begins upon the announcement of the pregnancy. Throughout the next 9 months, the parents, family, and friends wait with eager expectation and prepare for the baby’s arrival with joy and anticipation. Children born into royal families have been the cause of great national anticipation and joy. And yet, these babies aren’t able to intentionally DO anything to affect the lives of the people celebrating them. They simply are born.
In the advent season, we mark the period of waiting for the birth of Christ. A baby whose birth wasn’t cause for a party but quietly shifted the foundation of the very earth itself. At our moment in history, we are given the full story, we know that the baby born in Bethlehem is Christ the Lord, God with us, our great Redeemer. And yet, many people still do not recognize him as Lord.
The carol “Joy to the World” includes the lines,
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room and Heaven and nature sing.”
Our one true King entered the world as a human baby over 2000 years ago. During Advent we are invited to prepare our hearts to receive our King anew or perhaps for the first time as our Savior and to receive the promised joy of His presence.
Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.” Our lives are often spent chasing an elusive state of happiness. This desire is not wrong, but it is placed in our hearts to point us to a deeper longing for something better. There is a direct connection between the coming of Jesus and our ability to receive true life and joy.
In Handel’s Messiah, the “Rejoice Greatly” aria is based on Zechariah 9:9-10 which says,
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey…he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
We are often commanded in scripture to rejoice. It is a choice we can make, a response to the greatest of all truth. At Christmas, we remember this truth, that our King has come, he rejected earthly standards of glory and instead took the lowliest position. He took our place on the cross and in his resurrection, he forever vanquished the curse of sin upon us. Today he offers us the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love through the presence of the Holy Spirit within us. And one day He will return to bring ultimate peace and healing to the whole earth.
Rejoice!
Listen: “Joy to the World” by Melanie Penn, “Heart Sings Hallelujah” by The McClures
Ponder:
- Often when we deep clean the house, it gets messier before it gets cleaner. All the hidden junk has to get pulled out and sorted before it is removed or reorganized. Close your eyes and think for a moment about your life. What is hidden away in closets of your heart to be dealt with later? Picture Jesus entering your heart just as it is. Let him see everything. What do you need to give him or let him help you with? Allow Jesus to fill your heart with his love and forgiveness as he breathes fresh life into your soul. Allow him to take away any shame. Feel the peace and joy he brings.
- Is there anyone around you this year who is downtrodden? Write those names down. Sometime this week, make a point to do something encouraging for those people. Perhaps send a card, catch up over the phone, or drop off some baked goods.
- Play joyful worship music in your home in the morning and start the day from a place of rejoicing in the truth of God.