The Advent Adventure- 9 Days to Christmas: Finding Joy
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“You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
During the Christmas season there is plenty of room for Joy, and I hope you are partaking in all of it. The Earth is the Lord’s, and He has provided us with so many joy-filled experiences. Try driving around looking at the creative light displays on houses, drinking hot cocoa while watching a Christmas movie, going to a Christmas play or recital, making a gingerbread house with family, and doing a gift exchange with friends to experience a happy time this holiday season. But after all the cookies have been eaten, all the gifts unwrapped, and all the lights have been put up, we can be left with a sad feeling of melancholy. Oftentimes, we can equate doing and experiencing more with true joy, but it will ultimately let us down. True joy is experienced within Christ, and Advent Adventure is designed to recenter our expectations of receiving Him for Christmas. Let’s take a quick look at what offers lasting satisfaction during fleeting seasons.
In Psalm 16:11, we see that God is the one who fills us with joy, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” It is within the presence of God most high that we experience joy. There is nothing wrong with all of the earthly merriment we indulge in unless God isn’t at the center of it or in the center of you. Hollowness and futility will be the reward of trying to manufacture joy on our own. We were built with a different purpose. We were created to experience joy as a direct result of being close to Christ. All other forms will be cheap imitations and leave us wanting more.
I am sure we have all been left wanting more after having a good time. When you read the last page of a great novel, finish the final episode in a series, or wrap up a long vacation with close friends, there can be a pensive feeling of sadness, as if we want to pause time and capture the moment’s feelings permanently. I believe this is because we were designed for an eternal relationship with God. Our Heavenly Father is always creating, and we will always be discovering more about Him. No wonder no earthly pleasure can stack up against the King of the Universe. And how sad it is for us to compare these small and fleeting thrills to the everlasting and magnificent glory of Christ! It reminds me of the quote that C. S. Lewis has when speaking about the future Joy of heaven compared to our Earthly pleasures, “We are half-hearted creatures… like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
This Advent season, let us look forward to the author of Joy coming nearer. He came 2000 years ago and brought a Joy that will be everlasting. Soon, He will make a second appearance, and it will be to bring that Joy to completion and fulfillment. This should fill us with an anticipation rivaling any kid on Christmas Eve waiting to open their presents. An unspeakable and eternal Joy is on its way, and at the same time, it is already here, ready to be opened up!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.