A Very Married Christmas: Couples Advent DevotionalSample

JOY

Just as the angels announced in Luke 2:10, the Christmas season is a time of “joy to all people.” The long-awaited Savior has arrived, and with Him, the forgiveness of sins and a promise of life everlasting!

But with all the season's busyness, sometimes the joy slips through the cracks. Sometimes, we feel such a burden to get everything done that we inadvertently backburner our joy until the to-do list is done. The desire to recreate bygone Christmases becomes a burden we bear. We can even get so caught up working to create joy for others that we neglect to seek the simple joy found in Jesus.

Are you experiencing the Joy of the Lord today? Today’s scripture from John 15:9-11 gives us the recipe for a joy that will “overflow,” and it is pretty simple: to obey God’s commandments and remain in His love. What is one of God’s commands that He is calling you to obey today? Where can you follow Him more closely? We do not need to obey God to try and win his acceptance or work for our salvation: Only the blood of Jesus can do that.

But when we have experienced his goodness, following after Jesus is a life that will bring great joy. This may be as simple as letting go of certain expectations we have for ourselves or our family so we can create space for rest and refreshment. It may be serving our spouse in simple ways or letting go of selfishness and intentionally choosing kindness toward them.

Questions to Discuss Together:

• What is something that brings you a lot of joy at Christmas?
• What is hindering your joy today?
• Is there anything we need to let go of in order to experience more joy this season?

Pray together:

God, we love and praise you. We desire to delight in this season and in your goodness and grace together. We confess that sometimes selfish expectations get in the way of following you wholeheartedly. Help us to turn aside from anything that hinders obedience to you, to follow you closely, and to experience the fullness of joy in you today.