Reflection: “We light this fourth Advent candle, the candle of joy. We have been journeying through this season of Advent and looking at the Old Testament Scriptures that testify about the One who is to come. Imagine the eagerness with which they looked forward to a time when their mourning would be turned to dancing and their sadness transformed into joy. Although Isaiah’s verse seems out of place for an Advent reading as does not speak overtly about Christ, it paints a joy-filled picture of what is to come. Just like God’s written word goes out from His mouth to speak to men’s hearts, revealing both our sin and His righteousness, so God’s Living Word would do the same and so much more. It is this living Word that the Apostle John wrote about in the first chapter of his gospel when he said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God….and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, moving into our neighborhood” This living Word, Jesus Christ, is the source of true joy. To those who thirst for the good things of life but never being satisfied, to those who hunger for bread but only find everything else wanting, this Living Water, this Bread of Life offers all that our hungry and thirsty lives truly need. Jesus Christ embodies God’s heart and His desire that all men should turn away from wickedness and sin and seek only Him. God is not hard to be found, but always makes the first move. The reason why we can even seek Him is because He has sought us first. Our source of joy comes from knowing that God loves us. Nehemiah knew this when he said, “the joy of the Lord is our strength”. If we are honest with ourselves, very few things of this world can give us lasting joy. Yes, family, friends, warm memories provide us with happiness in the moment, but the source of true and abiding joy is only to be found in God and in a relationship with Him.

However, we don’t need to wait for heaven to experience it. For Ezekiel writes of God’s promise that those who come to Him, He will do heart surgery, replacing a heart of stone with one of flesh. It is with that new heart that we experience God’s love and joy to its fullest, on earth just as it is in heaven. God’s purpose in sending this little Advent baby, Jesus Christ, is so that He would draw us to Him and that in doing so, we would have joy in Him. May we have the joy and peace radiating from our lives so that all who would see us, even the mountains and the trees, would break forth in song and clap their hands because they know that we are God’s people, redeemed and loved.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father and the source of all joy, give us your joy this Christmas, even in times of heartache. Remind us that even in our hurts, You are faithful, even in times of sadness, that we can have joy because we have You. You provide for our needs and we love you because you first loved us, amen