“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.'” (Luke 2:9-11)

What is joy? I typically go to Webster’s Dictionary when I want a definition. Webster says of joy: “a. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight. B. the expression or exhibition of such emotion: gaiety.” So, Webster says joy is an emotion or the expression of that emotion, which is the result of well-being, success, good fortune, or possessing what one desires; therefore, joy is conditional on our circumstances. But we as believers know that’s not the biblical definition of joy.

We must look to the Bible if we want understanding of biblical joy such as that referenced in our scripture above. If we turn to the Bible (which I should have done in the first place, right?), one of the key verses about joy is in Galatians 5:22-23 which speaks of the fruits of the spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Breaking this down, we first see that joy comes from the Holy Spirit, not our circumstances. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We see in Jesus’ teaching that true joy can survive the harshest of circumstances because it is not dependent on circumstances. It is instead dependent on God and his promises for his people’s eternal future. (Bible Project / Advent Reflections).

Toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he spoke about joy. It was only with Jesus’ arrival on earth that believers could have true joy, the joy of having Jesus in their (our) hearts. And when Jesus ascended to Heaven, he sent to us the Holy Spirit to give us continual access to joy, the joy of man’s desiring.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

“So, with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22).

“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).

Joy is having Jesus in our hearts, which God made possible by sending his Son to earth to redeem us from our sins and make the way to have life everlasting.

Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come, sung by Charlie Pride

In Christ,

Judy