Illuminate Advent Sample

Illuminate Joy Day 2   

I truly enjoy the season of Advent. I love the decorations, the family time, the fresh baked goodies and the Christmas carols. One of my favorite carols is “Joy to the World.” “Joy to the world! The Lord is come,” we proclaim at Christmastime. Based on Psalm 98, Isaac Watts’s carol celebrates the coming of the Christ.

This is good news for all of God’s creation! All of creation, even the “fields and rocks and hills and plains repeat the sounding joy.”

Why so much joy? Because Jesus has come to remedy the curse of sin and rebellion, and we are now free to live with joy. Hence: Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Luke 2:8-20 tells us of the “good tidings of great joy” because of the birth of “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Advent makes me reflect on Psalm 45, which has been called a king’s wedding song. The bridegroom is a king of God’s people preparing to marry His beloved. It is a picture of the promised Messiah-King who would come to deliver us from bondage. Christians recognize Jesus as the Messiah-Savior-Bridegroom and the church as His bride as seen in verses about a wedding feast in Revelation 19:7-8.

It reminds me of the joy I felt as my own wedding was approaching. For weeks beforehand, it was like I was walking on clouds with anticipation. Everything seemed brighter and more joyous. The little troubles and worries of everyday life didn’t seem to faze me as I was only looking forward to that wonderful event that would bind me to my beloved for life. That is how we should feel every day as we anxiously await the coming of our bridegroom. The wedding feast is being prepared and He makes a place for us even as we wait! We need to remember that we have been “anointed with the oil of joy,” but too often we are distracted by the troubles and worries of the world and we forget who our promised is.

Yes, we have to deal with the struggles of this life but we should always look forward to our life with Him in the kingdom of God!

Always remember; we have been released from bondage and we are now free to live with joy, so sing loud that good news: “Joy to the world! The Lord is come.”

Take Away:

1. Are you merely existing, eking out your existence or are you joyfully anticipating your upcoming wedding?

2. During Advent are you being distracted by the ‘trimmings’ of the season or are you living joyously in who and what is central to the season?