Skip to content

2024-12-31 Great Joy

Glad Tidings

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10 ESV

“Joy” can come in many different forms. When someone’s sports team wins the championship, you might be able to see their joy by how much they’re smiling or how loudly they cheer. A new parent might feel an incredible amount of joy the first time they hold their child, even though they are completely silent and standing still.

“Joy” for a Christian can be a little tricky to understand. The Bible tells us to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). What if we aren’t always cheering and smiling? Are we doing it wrong? When things go wrong in our lives, it might be especially difficult to feel joyful about much of anything.

No doubt the shepherds outside Bethlehem on that first Christmas were joyful on the outside. They must have had the biggest smiles when they realized that God had finally sent the long-awaited Messiah to earth in order to fulfill God’s promise of taking away the sins of the world. They might have even cheered as they raced into Bethlehem to see the promised Savior.

But there’s also no doubt that those same shepherds later experienced trials and hardships in their lives. Even after the first Christmas, there must have been days when they didn’t feel joyful about much of anything. Even on the toughest and most heart-breaking days, though, those shepherds most definitely had joy on the inside, because they knew that they had a Savior from their sins.

The holiday season is a tough time for a lot of people for a variety of reasons. It might be that you, reading or hearing this, do not feel a lot of joy on the outside around Christmas time. If you are, I encourage you to find great joy in the news of a Savior from sin. Even though you might not be smiling or cheering on the outside, you will have a rock-solid base of joy in your heart knowing that God has and will continue to fulfill every single one of His promises to you.

Dear Lord Jesus, grant us your true joy, so that no matter our changing feelings and circumstances, you would give us peace and contentment within. Amen.