Nothing can match the joy of the birth of a child. That joy silently grows for nine months with unseen movements. And possibly no one experiences the joy like the mother, but it is a shared joy with the father. My wife and I experienced such joy the day after 9/11. Our little girl was born and we had joy in the midst of tragedy and sorrow. The unexpected events of 9/11 were never included in the plans of our joyful moment. Nineteen years later, that joy is still with us and has grown. God meant for the joy He gives us to be everlasting, but it can be stolen or taken away. If you have never done this, find the connection to your joy. If you connect your joy to your circumstances, it will be short-lived and always stolen. But if you connect your joy to Jesus’ birth and life, it will be everlasting.
Luke 2:10-11 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Anyone can lose their joy by allowing unexpected circumstances to steal it away. You can lose your joy when you lose a loved one or even when you fail to do those things that keep your faith strong. You can lose your joy when you constantly associate yourself with joyless people. But if Jesus Christ has been born in your life, by faith, you have joy forevermore. This Christmas rediscover and connect your joy to the One “born to you” at Bethlehem. Jesus is our everlasting joy, and nothing can take that away.
John 16:21-22 “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”