Joy verses Despair

 

Todays Verse : James 1:2-3

Count it all joy, my brothers,[a] when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

The other day, a friend and I had a conversation about the Advent season and the coming of Christmas and we asked one another “ Have you been able to find Christ in the season?” This was an interesting question and it led me to reflect on the theme of this week of Advent:  JOY.

As I begin to reflect on the anticipation of the coming Christ and the joy that he brings, I am in awe. There are thousands of songs and hymn that celebrate the joy of Christmas and of Christ. From a quick Google search there are about 110,000,000 results (0.68 seconds) references to Joy and Christmas. Joy is a major result of Christ coming into the world.  To fully comprehend the impact of Christ in the world let us look on the world before he became flesh.

Before Christ entered the world as flesh, the world was in Despair, the opposite of Joy.  There was not a true feeling of comfort and peace for anyone.  Before Christ came into the world, the Spirit of God was not available to all.  The Spirit of God was only for the few and chosen that God had appointed such as the prophets.  This was a time when TRUE Desperation and Despair were common daily aspects of life. There was constant despair from hunger, sickness, pain, and suffering.  There were glimmers of hope and peace and joy, but it was not a constant that people were aware or had access.  There was so much hurt and sadness that God gave his remedy to alleviate the despair: Christ.

Luke 2: 10-14

10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[d]

 

Christ came into the world and brought JOY.  His coming came to alleviate the hurt and pain that the people had suffered.  He opened up new ways of peace and healing.  Christ (God the Son) allowed us to become reunited with the Father (God the Father) through the presence of the Holy Spirit (God the Spirit). The coming of Christ did not erase the Despair of the world, but he came to give us a different perspective of despair. He allowed us to be comforted by the Spirit in the times of despair.  He gave us a new connection with God and others.  In the times of despair in hunger, the Spirit will intercede on your behalf and communicate with others to help you in your need.  In times of pain and suffering, the Spirit will give you ease and healing.  In times of sickness, the Spirit will give you hope that this will be for benefit of God’s kingdom and glory.

As we get closer to the celebration of Christmas, we may be faced with many insurmountable obstacles that challenge our family, friends, jobs, and faith but we must remember that we do not have to allow despair to control us.  Christ has already given us the JOY that is the remedy of the despair.   We must chose daily to find Christ in everyday and allow his JOY to supersede any despair that we encounter.

Have a very Merry and Blessed Advent and Christmas.