Tidings of Comfort and Joy

God rest ye merry, gentlemen

Let nothing you dismay

Remember, Christ, our Savior

Was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satan's power

When we were gone astray

O tidings of comfort and joy,

Comfort and joy

O tidings of comfort and joy

"Comfort, comfort my people,"

    says your God.

"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

    and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

    that her sin has been paid for."

Isaiah 40:1-2

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."

Luke 2:10

I wonder what the world looked like on the night Jesus was born. Not the landscapes or the climates, but its heart. What was brewing inside the heart of men? Had God forgotten His people? The physical night was dark, but darkness was settling into the hearts of mankind, too. Whether a member of the Hebrew nation or not, I wonder if those living on the earth felt a lack of....something.

A lack of purpose or hope or redemption.

Or Comfort and Joy.

We've got some basic needs in this human shell we live in: food, water, shelter, oxygen, clothing. But there's something about the lack of comfort and joy that make daily living almost impossible. Without comfort and joy we have to remind ourselves to breathe or to get out of bed in the morning.

There are times when you're without comfort of mind and spirit as you walk through dark days and other times when the joy of your heart seems to have disappeared. Comfort and joy do not give us physical life, but friend, they most certainly give us abundant life.

And Jesus says, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

Our good and gracious heavenly Father sent His Son to provide even more than the salvation of our souls and He wishes to supply more than just our basic needs. He sent His Son to provide you with tender comfort for your hurts and doubts, and great joy for the beautiful hope that is ahead of you.

On that dark night when the angels appeared to the shepherds with their words of Good News, they were exclaiming more than precious eternal salvation, they were telling us that in this life, as we wander in this human form, that there is much to be had here, too. That comfort and joy are things God wishes to give us now.

My human shell walks through times of plenty, health, success, and prosperity.

But it also walks through times of sorrow, uncertainty, fear, and longing.

But through all these seasons there is comfort from a Good Father and joy in the hope of the Coming Christ.

So, this Advent, let me be the first to say to you, no matter what season you may find yourself, dear friend:

I bid you good tidings of comfort and joy from a Good Father and a Coming Christ.