Hope and Joy

We’re going to begin by considering a ghost of Christmas past. I’m not talking about old Ebenezer Scrooge and the mistakes of his youth. I’m talking about some of the mistake’s parents have made in Christmases past. Specifically, the lengths we went to in order to get the toys we were so desperate to buy our children.

For example, if you had children in the ’90s, you might remember Tickle Me Elmo and rumors of parents paying thousands of dollars on the black market for a Sesame Street character whose allure came from the fact that he went into seizures and fits of giggling if you squeezed him. If you had a daughter in the 2000s, maybe you remember the scramble to get a Bratz doll. There was such desperation for the right character, you overlooked how a plastic doll could carry so much outright rebellion and sass. Why were we so eager to buy our children a toy whose primary message seemed to be “Your parents are idiots”? Maybe you more recently searched the Dark Web for a ZhuZhu Pet so you could pay three times more than the retail price. If we go way back, we must face one of the strangest toys of any Christmas past. I know our younger members won’t believe it, but children of the ’70s were clamoring for Pet Rocks. The pet box included breathing holes all around it, and inside you would find . . . a rock. That’s it. It became your pet. The downside was it wasn’t very fun to watch. The upside was you never had to flush it down the toilet.

So, what will it be this year? Millions of parents are desperately hoping that this year they’ll find the right toy. A toy that will both light up Christmas morning and not end up stuffed in the back of the closet three weeks from now. I don’t even want to think about all the gifts I’ve bought over the years that scarcely held my family’s interest for Christmas Day, much less for months or years to come. But we keep buying and keep hoping this time it will be different.

The first Christmas present was significantly different from that. The Bible tells us, “There were shepherds living out in their fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. 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 2:8–12).

Luke continues the story: “They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (verses 16–18). This Christmas present was so different.

The problem with toys and most things we look to for hope and joy is a case of diminishing returns. In economics, the law of diminishing returns says that as an investment in a particular area increases, the rate of profit from that investment, after a certain point, cannot continue to increase if other variables remain at a constant. With both toys and things we look to for hope and joy, we find that the more we go back to that thing or think on that thing, the less joy it brings.

Even if you had an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience, you can only hold onto it for so long. Let’s say you jumped out of a plane, and it was the most exhilarating thing in your life. For the next few days, just thinking about the jump brings a level of adrenaline and delight. But soon the memory doesn’t hold the same power. What’s more, the next jump doesn’t quite do what the first jump did. After a while, you find jumping doesn’t do much of anything at all for you. In the same way, if you were given an amazing gift, it only brings happiness for so long. Eventually, it just becomes part of the mass of stuff that you have.

But the first Christmas gift is a different sort of gift altogether. The shepherds show us that encountering Jesus is a different sort of experience. It had such an impact on the shepherds that they had to spread the word after they had seen Him. This was a lasting hope and joy that they could not contain. Three decades after that encounter, Jesus gave us insight on this sort of hope and joy for our lives: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

We all taste hope. We experience joy. How many of us would say our joy is complete? There are about 250 passages in the translation of the Bible that deal with joy. If you read them, you’ll find the Bible doesn’t just encourage joy, it commands us to have it. In fact, the Bible commands us to rejoice twice as many times as it commands us to repent. We aren’t just given permission to laugh or to have some fun times; God wants your life to be constantly overflowing and filled with joy. Is that how you would describe your life?

The shepherds’ joy was a result of what God had done. Watching sheep at night has its merits. But the hope, wonder, and life-changing joy for them began when they first heard of Jesus. And the joy grew as they met Jesus. Joy begins for us in the same way it began for the shepherds. It begins with meeting Jesus. Without that foundation, how can we hope to have lasting joy? Very few things last forever. An encounter with Jesus, however, remains and grows through all eternity. Meeting Jesus never stops impacting, shaping, and transforming our lives! It never stops giving us hope and opportunities for joy.

With that foundation in mind, let’s zero in on a few basic themes that recur numerous times in those 250 passages on joy. If we are going to walk in the joy God has for us, it seems we should pay attention to what the Bible not only says but repeats numerous times. While our foundation for joy comes as a result of what Jesus did for us, we find that embracing daily joy has little to do with what happens every day. In fact, according to many passages in the Bible, hope and joy are more of a mind-set or posture for living that comes from what Jesus did at Christmas than simply a result or feeling. It’s an undeniable theme concerning joy in the Bible.

The apostle Paul clearly demonstrates this truth in Philippians 4:4–5: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” One important part of walking in hope and joy is simply to choose to rejoice in everything! Much of the hope, joy, and rejoicing in the Bible isn’t really connected with circumstances. It’s connected with a decision. In fact, one of the keys to a life of joy is to rejoice even when the circumstances are disappointing or even painful.

Take, for example, the amazing prayer of the prophet Habakkuk. The prophet prays to God when Israel is in a state of terrible disarray. Wickedness and idolatry ruled the land, and the Assyrians were threatening to overwhelm Israel. As I read his prayer from Habakkuk 3:17–18, pay attention to both the circumstances the prophet is facing as well as Habakkuk’s response: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

There’s not much more that could be going wrong in Israel. Yet Habakkuk’s response is to rejoice. Not just to rejoice, but to be joyful. That’s amazing! Normally, good things happen, and then we feel happy. We feel joy, and then we rejoice. Our prospects look good, and hope fills our hearts. The Bible says, “That’s fine, but actually it works the other way around. You start with rejoicing, and then you feel joy.” Like the shepherds, we always have a reason to rejoice—Christ has come! Joy flows out of rejoicing every bit as much as rejoicing should flow out of joy.

Here’s a practical example. I don’t think anyone likes feeling embarrassment. We all hate making a mistake or doing something foolish and just feeling like an idiot. When that feeling comes, the first thing we want to do is push it away however we can. We run from it; we try to forget it. We try to replace it or defend against it. In fact, most of us will do whatever it takes to just not feel it.

The next time you feel embarrassed, try this. When embarrassment comes, don’t expect to enjoy it, but try to rejoice in it. We can actually thank God when we feel foolish because it’s a chance for our ego to be contained, challenged, or even broken. Isn’t that why we feel embarrassed in the first place? Our ego has been challenged. So instead of running away from it or pushing it down, try giving praise and thanks to God. “Lord, thank You for this chance to be humbled. Thank You that my ego and my pride are being challenged. I rejoice in You that I’m being made new in this horrible feeling I have right now.” That approach can change the way we go through all sorts of failures. We probably won’t ever desire them, but maybe for the first time we can have joy in the midst of them.

Do you remember this famous passage from Romans 8:28? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” “All things” is not some things. “All things” is not most things. “All things” is all things.

So, no matter what you go through, you can be absolutely certain that one of two things is happening. Either God sent it or God is going to use it. I think God sends things that aren’t quite what we ask for. I also think there are tragedies and pain that God doesn’t send. But if you love Him, you can be sure that He is using it somehow and someway for your good because He is mindful of you and watchful over you. In that, we can always have hope. We can always rejoice. And one of the eventual outflows of rejoicing is joy.

Do you remember what the big sin was that the Israelites fell into when they were wandering in the desert after they escaped Egypt? There were actually at least two. One was idolatry. But the more common one was complaining. Their complaining made God angry. Some of us need to be reminded that complaining and grumbling are sins.

We are called to share our burdens. Please, let’s be honest with one another in our pain. I hope you have a godly friend that can lift you up when you share your struggles. However, grousing and complaining about your boss, about your kids’ teachers, about your relatives, about the president of your homeowner’s association, about your pastor, about your friends is a sin. It’s incredibly dishonoring and disruptive. We all do it, we all complain, but remember just as rejoicing restores your joy, complaining steals it. How many of you know people who complain a lot? How many of those people would you describe as hopeful, happy, joyful people whom you love being around? It doesn’t help. It hurts. If you complain a lot, stop it, it pushes people away and complaining is actually a declaration of war against our own joy.

There’s another undeniable theme connected to our continued hope and growing joy that’s found throughout the Bible. It’s most clearly seen in Psalm 51. This beautiful and powerful passage was written by David after he had an affair with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be killed. In verses 3 and 4, David says, “My sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” I think the high point of this psalm is verse 12 where David prays, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”

The first thing to notice is that David brings his life back into alignment with God’s truth and God’s Word. Our sin almost certainly will bring temporary pleasure, momentary relief, maybe even a little happiness. But we all know that in the end, it will steal your hope and crush your joy. David also wrote these words in Psalm 19:8: “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” Do you want your eyes to light up? Do you want to come alive? Do you want to have an unshakable hope and joy? Then do things God’s way.

Listen to what C. S. Lewis says in The Weight of Glory: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, 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. We are far too easily pleased.”

Lewis makes a powerful connection with David’s words in Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” I think we too easily forget what it is the angel was announcing to the shepherds. I think we too easily forget what it means that the Savior had been born to them and us. The truth of eternal life alone—if we really understand what it means for us—is more than enough to give us cause to rejoice in every single situation. No matter what we go through, we can factually declare, “Yes, but one day I will be in heaven with Jesus.” It may sound a little silly to you or even Pollyannaish, but heaven is our real hope and a source of real joy.

Salvation includes heaven, but salvation is more than heaven. Salvation means we are God’s child. Salvation means we are part of God’s family. To be God’s child is to be always on God’s mind, having God involved and working in everything. To be found in Christ is to be given the standing offer and ability to be in God’s presence. To believe in Jesus is to always have His Spirit, His insight, His help, His comfort, and His strength in every circumstance. Lord, restore to us the joy of Your salvation. Make our joy complete as it is found in You alone and cannot be taken from us. What hope we have in You! Help us to see the great joy that the shepherds witnessed that night.

Joy is stolen when we forget what Jesus’s arrival on earth means to our lives. So, we search for it by making mud pies in the slum of what this world offers instead of seeking the refreshment of a holiday at sea, which comes with meeting and loving Jesus. When you think of Christians, do you see images of people who are full of hope and joy? People who are making the most out of every moment? When I say “followers of Jesus,” do you think of people who are full of hope and marked by rejoicing? I hope so.

Life can be hard, but we know the secret the shepherds held. The Savoir has come! In Him, we are saved. In Him, we win. The amazing thing is, no matter what happens, that can never be taken away from us.

In John 8:36 Jesus tells us, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. So, let’s live like we’re saved. Let’s live like we’re loved. Let’s live like we’re free. Every moment is a chance to sing and live our praises to our amazing King. Every moment is a chance to rejoice. Every moment is an opportunity to be filled with and to overflow with joy. Let your strength arise. Let your hope arise. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Would you please pray with me?

Father, thank You for this gift that is unlike any other gift that has ever been given. Thank You for sending Your Son to save us from our sins. We forget what a wonderful and amazing gift our salvation really is. Fill us with your hope and joy—a joy so complete and overwhelming that we, like the shepherds, are compelled to share it with others. We are thankful for the certainty of heaven in Jesus. But until that day, we, like the shepherds, will choose to glorify and praise You. We will continue to rejoice in who You are and all that You’ve done. We thank You and praise You. And it is in Jesus’s name that we pray, amen.

‒ Pastor Pam