Advent: Joy | Romans 15:13

Devotional

Day 1: The God of Hope Gives Durable Joy

Everyone longs for joy that doesn’t fade with changing circumstances. Scripture says that God not only approves of this longing—He commands and supplies it. Joy is not an off-brand feeling you muster; it is the real thing poured into your heart by the Holy Spirit as you trust Jesus. When your soul feels thin, the way forward isn’t pretending; it’s receiving. Open your hands to the God of hope, and let Him steady you from the inside out [42:40].

Romans 15:13: The God who is our hope Himself fills you with every kind of joy and peace as you trust Him, so that the Holy Spirit’s power causes your hope to overflow.

Reflection: Name one specific situation that is currently draining your joy; what would trusting Jesus in that exact place look like for you this week?

Day 2: Joy Beyond Circumstances, Not Self-Made Cheer

Biblical joy doesn’t rise and fall with vacations, raises, or personalities. Scripture calls us to rejoice even amid trouble because our anchor is deeper than what we see. Jesus endured the cross with joy in view, showing that real joy can live right next to real pain. You can’t white‑knuckle your way into this; it’s the Spirit’s work as you fix your gaze on Christ. Bring your honest sorrow to Him today and receive a joy that suffering cannot erase [50:11].

Hebrews 12:2: Keep your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and finisher of faith, who, because of the joy awaiting Him, chose the cross, disregarded its shame, and now sits in honor at God’s right hand.

Reflection: Where are you tempted to fake a smile right now? Instead of pretending, what would it mean to meet Jesus in that hardship and ask for His joy there?

Day 3: Joy Through Believing the Promise-Fulfilling Christ

Joy comes through believing—not in ourselves—but in Jesus, who fulfills God’s promises for insiders and outsiders alike. He arrived to rescue, to gather people from every background, and to place us at the table of praise. The God of hope fills with joy and peace as faith leans into Christ’s finished work and living presence. Your joy is tethered to His character and promises, not to today’s headlines. Trust Him again today, and let His mercy widen your hope [53:33].

Romans 15:8–12: Christ became a servant to confirm God’s truthfulness, proving His promises to the ancestors and drawing the nations to glorify God for mercy. Scripture foretold that the nations would rejoice, praise the Lord, and place their hope in the Root of Jesse—the One who would rise to rule and bring hope to all peoples.

Reflection: Which promise of Jesus feels hardest to trust right now, and how could you rehearse that promise daily—out loud—this week?

Day 4: Ask God for Joy; Rehearse His Story

If joy is from God, then ask Him for it—again and again. Pray boldly: “Command what You will, and grant what You command,” and watch how He meets you. In His presence there is fullness of joy, so draw near when your feelings are thin. Remember the victory announcement: in Christ the war is won, even as we still live in the in‑between; keep retelling that story to your heart. Let today be a day of asking, receiving, and remembering [56:08].

Psalm 16:11: You make the path of life known; in Your nearness there is a joy that is whole, and at Your right hand are pleasures that do not run out.

Reflection: Write a simple, honest prayer asking God for joy, and choose one gospel truth to repeat morning and night for the next seven days—what truth will it be?

Day 5: When Grief and Joy Walk Together with Jesus

In Christ, grief and joy do not cancel each other; they can share the same heart. The cross shows us tears and triumph in one place, and the Spirit teaches us to hold both. You may ache over what has been lost while rejoicing over signs of life and grace that are still unfolding. Bring both the pain and the gratitude to Jesus, and let Him braid them into hope. This is how your soul becomes both tender and strong [59:21].

1 Thessalonians 1:6: Even in heavy trouble, you welcomed the message with joy given by the Holy Spirit, becoming living examples of what faith looks like under pressure.

Reflection: Think of one current grief and one current grace—how will you name both before Jesus this week, and what small practice could help you notice His presence in the middle of them?

Sermon Summary

All I want for Christmas is joy—not the kind that rises and falls with circumstance, not the off-brand version that evaporates by lunchtime, but steady, durable, soul-steadying joy. Scripture doesn’t just permit that desire; it commands it. Across the Bible we’re invited, even commanded, to rejoice. So what is this joy? It isn’t circumstantial, it isn’t manufactured by gritting our teeth, and it’s more than a sunny personality. Biblical joy is a Spirit-produced delight and confidence in God that rests in His character, trusts His promises, and remains steady even in suffering.

Romans 15:13 shows the path: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing….” Joy comes from God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and it’s received in believing. Believing what? Not vague optimism or self-belief, but the concrete good news that Jesus fulfilled God’s promises, came for insiders and outsiders, lived, died, rose, and invites us to trust Him. The source of our hope and the object of our faith is Jesus Himself. That’s why joy can coexist with hardship—because it is anchored beyond what’s fragile.

So what if joy feels far from your current reality? First, ask God for it. If He commands it and gives it, we can pray, “Command what You will, and grant what You command.” Second, reframe your life inside God’s larger story. Like POWs who heard the war was over before the gates swung open, we live in those “three days” between the decisive victory of the cross and the final day when every tear is wiped away. The news has already broken: our freedom is real, even as we still ache. That means sorrow and joy aren’t rivals; in Christ, they hold hands.

I saw this lived picture in a friend’s story: mascara tears and deep gratitude as their daughter, paralyzed in an accident, drove herself back to campus. Grief surged; joy surged too. That’s not denial—it’s hope. The cross is our “emoji” for this paradox: Jesus, “for the joy set before Him,” endured the cross. So I’m praying this over us today: may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the Spirit’s power we may abound in hope.

Key Takeaways

1. Joy is God-given, not circumstantial. Real joy can flourish in affliction because it isn’t tethered to outcomes but to God’s unchanging character. Scripture refuses to separate sorrow and rejoicing; they often arrive together. This frees us from pretending and invites us to anchor delight where suffering can’t reach. [49:28]
2. Joy comes through believing Jesus. Joy isn’t delivered by vague optimism; it’s received as we trust the crucified and risen Christ who fulfills God’s promises. Faith roots our emotions in a Person whose mercy, power, and future are secure. As belief is nourished, joy becomes resilient even when life is not. [67:59]
3. Ask God to grant joy. If God commands joy and the Spirit produces it, then prayer is not last resort but first practice. Bring your lack honestly to Him: “Grant what You command.” Persistent asking trains the heart to expect from God what we cannot generate ourselves. [70:32]
4. Reframe life by God’s story. We live between victory announced and victory consummated. Like hearing the war is over while the gates haven’t yet swung wide, our hope grows as we remember the decisive turn in the story. Joy rises when we interpret our moment inside God’s finished and future works. [73:24]
5. Grief and joy can coexist. Christian maturity doesn’t mute sorrow; it deepens joy beneath it. In Christ, tears aren’t a threat to rejoicing but a context for it, because the cross guarantees a future where loss won’t last. This paradox is not weakness—it’s the witness of hope. [77:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:50] - A lighthearted start with Billy
[38:48] - What do you want for Christmas?
[40:54] - The quest for durable joy
[42:40] - Romans 15:13—God of hope
[49:28] - Joy is not circumstantial
[50:50] - Not manufactured or mere temperament
[54:08] - Defining biblical joy
[57:53] - Sorrow and joy together
[62:18] - Joy’s source: the Triune God
[63:49] - Receiving joy through believing
[65:42] - Belief anchored in Jesus
[71:55] - POW story: living in-between
[75:54] - Hannah’s story: grief and joy
[77:39] - Prayer: abound in hope

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Romans 15:13

Observation questions

Read Romans 15:13 slowly. What phrase or word in that verse stands out most to you, and why?
The verse links three things (God, joy/peace, and believing). What does the verse present as the agent, the gift, and the means? [42:40]
Name two places in Scripture (or in the memory of the group) where God commands or calls people to rejoice. How do those passages frame joy as more than a feeling? [45:52]
What contrasts did the sermon draw between “circumstantial” joy and biblical joy? List concrete differences you heard. [49:28]

Interpretation questions

What does the phrase “in believing” mean in Romans 15:13? How does viewing believing as the means change how one expects joy to arrive? [01:03:49]
Romans 15:13 says the God of hope fills people with joy and peace. How does understanding joy as a gift from God (and as fruit of the Spirit) affect the role of human effort in pursuing joy? [01:02:18]
The “in-between” image (hearing the war is over while still behind the prison gates) was used to describe our present condition. How does this image reframe the relationship between present suffering and assured future victory? [01:12:29]
Hebrews 12:2 is appealed to when saying Jesus “for the joy set before him endured the cross.” How does Jesus’ endurance shape the meaning of joy for those who follow him? [50:11]

Application questions

If joy is a gift from God that can be asked for, will you bring your honest lack of joy to God this week? (Try a short, specific prayer: “Lord, I believe less than I should—will you give me the joy you command?”) [01:10:32]
What concrete reminders can you place in your daily life to reframe your current struggles inside God’s larger story (examples: a verse on your phone lock screen, a short confession at morning coffee, a weekly calendar alert)? Pick one and commit to doing it this week. [01:12:29]
Identify a present sorrow in your life. Where do you already see evidence of God’s goodness or movement in that same situation? How can you practice holding grief and gratitude together this week (journaling one grief and one grateful item each day)? [01:15:54]
Where do you tend to manufacture or chase “circumstantial” joy (shopping, approval, achievements)? Name one specific temptation and one practical step to redirect that pursuit toward believing in Jesus instead (for example: read a gospel passage when tempted; call a friend to pray). [50:50]
Who will you tell about the concrete reason you trust Jesus this week? Share one short sentence you can use to explain how Jesus is the object of hope that grounds your joy. Then actually say it to that person. [01:07:59]

(Use Romans 15:13 as your text for personal reading this week. Pray for Spirit-produced joy and for eyes to see how belief in Jesus reshapes daily feelings and actions.)

Sermon Clips

If you are here this morning and you desire to be happy, you long to experience joy, I want to remind you that that is not an American or Western idea. It is a desire that people have had for all of creation. We long for happiness. We desire joy. And what is interesting, that the very thing that we desire, the very thing that we want and long for, is something that God actually commands. God commands you and me to experience joy and happiness. [00:44:43] (41 seconds) #JoyIsCommanded

Biblical joy is not circumstantial. The joy that we are commanded to experience in the Christian life is not wrapped up in our current circumstances. Biblical joy is not circumstantial. The reason that I say that is because there are countless versions or verses in the Bible that command us to experience joy or happiness, and yet it does it in the midst of situations that are incredibly difficult occult or heartbreaking. [00:49:17] (30 seconds) #JoyNotCircumstantial

A couple different definitions of biblical joy. A biblical joy is an emotion gifted by God that is rooted in the work of God that is experienced by faith in God. Or one might say biblical joy is a spirit-produced delight and confidence in God that rests in His character, trusts in His promises, and remains steady even in suffering. [00:54:05] (27 seconds) #JoyRootedInGod

So what in the world is Paul talking about in those verses? What is he referring to when he calls the church, when he calls you and me to believe? Paul is reminding the church that Jesus came to this earth to fulfill the promises of God. In other words, Jesus arrived some 2,000 years ago on a rescue mission to save both Jews and Gentiles. In other words, Jesus came to save so-called insiders and outsiders. That's you and me. Jesus came to bring us to God so that we might praise and glory in him. [01:06:06] (41 seconds) #JesusFulfillsPromises

``This is the beauty of the gospel by the way that we were lost in our sin with no hope. We couldn't save ourselves and God in Christ sent us a rescuer. A savior has been born. Good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Jesus came, lived, died, was buried and he rose again and he invites us by faith to trust in him. [01:07:03] (32 seconds) #GospelRescue

And so, Lord, you need to help me experience what you've commanded for me to experience. So we pray, as the people of God like Augustine did, God, command what you will and grant what you command. Command what you will. God, you're God, I'm not, you can command anything, but if you command it, then grant me what you command. Grant me the ability to experience it if you command me to experience it. [01:10:24] (38 seconds) #GrantWhatYouCommand

Christian, I want to remind you that there has been a turn in your story and mine. Scripture announces to you and to me that there is freedom. We have heard the news, our victory has been won, and we long for the day when the prison doors of our pain and suffering and our war-torn world will be opened once and for all. [01:13:13] (33 seconds) #VictoryHasCome

The cross reminds us that in a world of grief, there is unspeakable, unexplainable, God-given, spirit-produced confidence that rests in the character of God, trust in the promises of God, and remain steady in the midst of suffering. We are a people who look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross. [01:17:39] (33 seconds) #CrossConfidence

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