Every Good Gift: A 5-Day Advent DevotionalSample

Joy + Good Deeds

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

The third week of Advent invites us to dive right into joy. Even in this festive season when hardships remain, the Holy Spirit is inviting us into the Presence of the Father where there is joy available in its fullness. Together, we will see how following Jesus and yielding to the Holy Spirit is the pathway to a joy that is complete and perfect.

These past couple of years have been particularly hard for everyone. We thought we had seen the worst of life’s storms when the pandemic turned our world upside down. We lost people, things and connection. And while all these uncertainties have surrounded us and continued their attempt to disrupt our lives and break our faith, Jesus shows us a better way: Even amid the worst of storms, we can still have joy.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12) 

Being joyful in the face of difficulties is hard. It’ll cost us to remain hopeful when nothing seems to be changing. But could it be that our joy births the strength we need in every season? The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10, emphasis added) Could it be that joy is the strength through which we remain steadfast? Joy, our staying power; the strength through which we can be patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Joy is the strength we stand upon in the face of adversity.

Joy like a river.

How do we make joy our daily posture and not just a seasonal one? We don’t want the kind of joy that comes only during the season of Christmas and other celebrations; we want the joy that remains. The joy that reveals that Jesus is Lord in every season. When we received Jesus into our hearts, we received His joy. The joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12). And as we intentionally pursue the presence of God through consistent prayer, we begin to draw more joy from His abundant flow and this becomes our place of habitation. The more we keep coming to draw, the more the Lord begins to write His commandments upon our hearts. He begins to create in us a clean heart and renew in us the right Spirit that desires to do His perfect will.  

“If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:10-12) 

Good deeds bring fullness of joy. Jesus teaches us that there is a different kind of joy called complete and perfect joy, which comes as a result of loving God and keeping His commandments. He teaches us that pursuing and doing the perfect will of the Father is how our joy is made perfect. The Bible tells us that Jesus went about doing good everywhere He went. Our good deeds are birthed out of our love for God. Our good deeds please God. Our good deeds bring us joy.

In the small community of Santo Domingo de Onzole, Ecuador, a traditional dance group has started with the support of the local church. Sheila is one of the girls on the team. She is passionate about dance and has a lot of excitement for the upcoming Christmas dance show. For months, she practised and trained every day for the show.

"It's not only a dance presentation; it's my time where I can dance for Jesus, for His birthday. I know that throughout the year I've received so many good things and blessings, and now I want to give something back and dance for Him," said Sheila.

In Santo Domingo de Onzole, people don't have clean water and they only have electricity a few hours during the day. They don't have shops or places where people can buy Christmas gifts. That's why they celebrate this special holiday in a different way. Sheila may not have enough resources to give a material gift, but she wanted to bring joy to God through a simple act of love. She just wanted to dance for Jesus.

Sheila didn’t let the difficulties that surrounded her take away from the joy of giving all that she had back to God.

"God gave me a talent and I'm thankful for that. Not everyone has the gift that God gave me," said Sheila.

On the day of her dance, Sheila got on stage with a big smile; her eyes bright; her dress moving like the wind—everything was beautiful. She offered her gift to Jesus and everyone who came. At the end of the show, Sheila was filled with joy as she saw the smiles all across the room and knew that she had brought others joy. She came down from the stage and gave a big hug to her mother:

"This is what I want to do all my life," Sheila said.

There is a kind of joy that overflows in our hearts when we make an impact in the lives of others. This is the kind of joy Jesus is offering us as He calls us to a life of service and sacrifice. May we reflect on how our lives can make a difference in our broken world. May we begin to rise as the light of the world that we are.

Prayer:

Precious Holy Spirit, keep me dwelling in the glorious presence of the Father so that my joy may be full. Help me always rejoice in the joy of Your salvation. Open my eyes to ways and places I can let my joy overflow and put my faith into action. Write your laws upon my heart, O Lord, and give me the grace to follow them, so that my deeds can be pleasing to You and can glorify You—and that my joy may be complete. In Jesus' Name, Amen.