Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare him room And heaven and nature sing!
And heaven and nature sing! And heaven and heaven and nature sing!

Did you know that “Joy to the World” was not written as a Christmas carol? In its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas. It wasn’t even written to be a song. Isaac Watts was one of the great hymn writers in church history, and nothing shows that better than the fact that he wrote one of his most famous hymns by accident. In 1719, Watts published a book of poems in which each poem was based on a psalm. But rather than just translate the original Old Testament texts, he adjusted them to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as it had been revealed in the New Testament. One of those poems was an adaptation of Psalm 98 Watts interpreted this psalm as a celebration of Jesus’s role as King of both his church and the whole world. More than a century later, the second half of this poem was slightly adapted and set to music to give us what has become one of the most famous of all Christmas carols: (source crossway.org)

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!

This week the lone pink candle will be lit on the advent wreath.  Christians everywhere will be rejoicing that the Lord is near. The candle we designate as “joy” is also referred to as the “Shepherd’s Candle” because of the joy those men experienced when the angels appeared to them announcing the birth of the Messiah. Those shepherds exhibited the very definition of “biblical joy”, the kind that goes far beyond momentary happiness. It is an extreme happiness that cannot be deterred by present  circumstances. This type of joy comes from God alone. Joy can often be experienced when a Christian thinks about salvation, eternal life, or Jesus.  It is an eager anticipation about wonderful things to come. The shepherds experienced this as they ran to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus.

We Christians are in time of waiting, this one is for the Second Coming of Jesus. While we wait, we can rest in perfect peace no matter our circumstances, a peace that is accompanied by joy…a kind of joy that no one can take from us (John 16: 22) Scripture also says that it’s God who fills us with joy (Roman 15:13). Joy is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). Depending on your translation the word joy is mentioned in the Bible over 100 times. I think God wants us to understand and have joy.

In the years leading up to the birth of Jesus, the Jews were waiting for their messiah. The world was dark, it was harsh. In many ways, one could say that nothing has changed. Turn on or click any media source and the news is heavy. But, be of good cheer! Jesus came into a dark world just over 2,000 years ago, granting hope, peace, redemption, and salvation to all who would receive Him. By declaring “I am the Light of the world” He overcame darkness then and continues to do so every day for His beloved children. 

This week, as you consider what it means to experience true joy, my hope for all of us is that we turn off the noise from the world and tune into God’s goodness through the reading of scripture, singing or listening to sacred Christmas songs, finding joy in the midst of our personal circumstances. 

“Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all”. (Robert Louis Stevenson)  

P.S. Don’t “miss” Jesus either….He’s the best part of “all”.