Sometimes holidays are hard days full of unmet expectations. Where’s the joy in that?
Sometimes holidays are a brutal reminder of dreams that never came true. Where’s the joy in that?
Sometimes holidays are full of loss and grieving. Where’s the joy in that?
From the ending of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament, four hundred years passed until God’s people heard from Him.
Four hundred years of silence.
He had established his chosen people with Abraham, had led them out of captivity through Moses, had established rules and given them instructions.
Then He went silent.
In that stretch of silence, when I’m sure His people feared that He had forgotten them, He was preparing the biggest surprise ever.
Jesus.
Four hundred years after He stopped talking to His people, He sent His son. He didn’t choose another Abraham or Moses, he sent His very own son.
Can you imagine the JOY that was theirs when they learned of the baby born that very first Christmas?
The King they had been promised all those years ago had finally arrived!
I imagine they dusted off those old Psalms of David and began rejoicing as they realized that all they had been taught about the god of their fathers was TRUE and He had not forgotten them at all, but instead had sent a Savior.
In 1719, Isaac Watts put some of those psalms to work as he rejoiced over God’s faithfulness.
Psalm 98 says:
1
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2
The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
4
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
6
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
7
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
8
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
9
let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
This psalm inspired what we now know as the hymn Joy to the World. One of my absolute favorite songs to sing this time of year (or any time really—just ask my kids) because no matter what’s going on in my everyday, it reminds me that JOY came to the world. The King of all the Earth, came to the Earth.
And He’s coming back.
And when He does, sorrow will no longer exist.
Much like the people who lived in that four hundred years in between, we are living in hopeful expectation of His return. He has not forgotten us. He WILL return. In the meantime, we need to find our joy in Him and share that joy with everyone we meet.
So when the holidays are hard days full of unmet expectations. There’s joy in Jesus.
When the holidays are a brutal reminder of dreams that never came true. There’s joy in Jesus.
And when holidays are full of loss and grieving. There’s joy in Jesus.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness
and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, wonders of His love.
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