There are many parts of the holiday season that I absolutely love and there are many parts that are down right joy stealers. I’m talking about traffic, crowded malls and grumpy shoppers. Just to name a few.
They can suck the joy right out of me and ruin my jolly spirit. How about you? Does the joy of the holidays sometimes feel like it’s slipping away?
The good news is that joy doesn’t have to be, and absolutely shouldn’t be, missing this holiday season.
Joy is the very thing the angels proclaimed to the shepherds the night Jesus was born. It’s the same proclamation they would make to us today.
They said, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
It’s from this angelic good news we can learn how to find joy… even if you’r not jolly.
Keep the main thing the main thing.
The reason the angels were shouting for joy wasn’t because they saved a bunch of money on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. They were ecstatic because Jesus had finally come. He was the source of their joy and should be the source of ours.
He’s the joy of the world and the joy of Christmas!
Keep it humble.
Isn’t it a little strange to you that the creator of the cosmos, Jesus, who was announced by the angels, was wrapped in strips of cloth? It is to me!
Jesus was anything but a Gerber baby yet there was unspeakable joy that night. It can be the same for you. It should remind us that we really don’t need as much as we think to have joy this Christmas.
Keep it real.
What would the parents of today think if you asked them to put their new baby in a manger? It’s almost laughable!
Yet here was Jesus, the one who sits on the throne, lying in the same place the farmer fed his cattle with that morning. It’s here where two proud, first-time parents beamed with joy as they watched Jesus sleeping in a manger. It doesn’t get more real than that.
It’s easy to let the season steal our joy. You can find it again if you look to Jesus. He teaches us how to find joy… even if you’re not feeling jolly.
Talk it over:
- What’s most important to you this Christmas? Why is it most important?
- What can you do to avoid joy stealers this Christmas?
