Joy - Experience Joy This ChristmasՕրինակ

What brings us joy: Hope = Delayed gratification & Joy

Most of us don’t like to wait for good things! But if we could wrap our heads around what’s coming to us in heaven, we could live with boundless joy! It’s the ultimate delayed gratification! 

There are incredible realities of Christianity in the here and now, but the joy of heaven to come can give us perspective and purpose when life is hard. 

In Romans 12:12 (TPT) Paul wrote, “Let this hope burst forth within you, releasing a continual joy. Don’t give up in a time of trouble, but commune with God at all times.” 

Paul could see that the deep wellspring of joy was hope. What was this hope? Well, read Romans (especially Chapter 8) and you’ll be reminded of all the promises God made to us, His children. 

God is trustworthy and good, so we can hold onto these hopes and allow them to give us joy no matter our circumstances. We need joy especially when we’re in a time of grief or in waiting! That’s why understanding the promises of God and the heaven that awaits us is so important! 

Hebrews 12:2 says that for the joy set before him, Christ endured the cross. We have that same joy before us. If we can work out how to live with it in the front of our minds, we’ll be able to endure anything! 

Christmas is a great time to celebrate our hope, because it is a season of joy and a reminder of the perfect plans and promises of God becoming reality in Jesus.

To reflect:

1. Do you know about all the prophecies that came true in the circumstances of Jesus’ birth? It’s an amazing reminder of how God keeps his promises. Why not do some study this Christmas and allow the amazing trustworthiness of God to give you hope and joy again! 

2. What do you know about heaven? Do you choose to think about future joys promised you by God  (heaven, sanctification, continued forgiveness) and let them give you endurance?

3. Do you struggle to see hope (and then find joy) in the middle of difficult or disappointing circumstances? Find someone to pray with this week. Rather than asking them to pray for you, try praying yourself, in agreement with them. Sometimes speaking out our pain is the first step to allowing God to restore hope in us.