Embracing Joy Through the Advent Waiting

And through this process, I've noticed that what we are waiting for often determines how we are going to live. How we wait. What we are waiting for often determines how we wait. And then how we wait often determines how something can be formed inside of us. Something that we are ultimately longing for. [00:02:17] (24 seconds)


So to better understand the concept of joy and how to find it in any circumstances, we'll first learn about this good news and then how we can rejoice. So number one, what is the good news of great joy? The great joy is not just the birth of Jesus, but what it signifies. The restoration and redemption of creation and of us. [00:06:06] (25 seconds)


Throughout the biblical text, we encounter reoccurring themes of fulfillment, restoration, redemption, and it signifies a great reversal of what was lost in the garden is now in an ongoing heavenly process that is being set right through a coming king. We see this theme several times in the book of Isaiah, as well as many times throughout the Old Testament. [00:06:31] (25 seconds)


And I think it's easy to forget that we serve a joyous God, and if you imagine your God not joyous, I might consider changing that or running for cover. That's a joke. But if you imagine your God anything but joyous, I would consider changing that. This also reminds us that God was planning his redemptive work for us the moment we left his presence in the garden. [00:09:36] (33 seconds)


In love and delight, God would abandon the splendor of heaven, empty himself of his glory, and draw us near to him in our aches, pains, disappointments, or maybe disappointments, and the reality that life didn't pan out as we thought it would. He knew that we would need a savior to bring us joy while we wait for his second coming. [00:14:50] (24 seconds)


i will adjust to you i'll serve you though it means a sacrifice for me our savior holds in both hands the tension of joy and sorrow and i think it's one of the most beautiful things about the good news is how it draws not only how it draws not only ourselves but it draws others back into his love i think this is why it's called restore to us the joy of our salvation a contagious type of joy that gets us excited for what the things are to come even in our pain or current circumstances this joy is not man -made it is found only in the light that came from heaven and it is a heavenly gift [00:15:15] (50 seconds)


And she explained to me that rejoicing was this compassionate process of rediscovering or relearning joy in unlikely places. The prefix re, meaning again or new, indicates a repeated process or a repeated renewal state of something. Thus rejoicing is the very renewal of our joy. [00:20:56] (26 seconds)


And Jesus and his word teaches us how to cultivate joy while we wait. So how do we do this? Psalms 126 provides a beautiful metaphor of the process of cultivating joy. The psalmist writes, those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bringing the seed of joy, shall reap with shouts of joy. [00:21:52] (27 seconds)


And I just, it made me start thinking that when we encounter genuine joy it can feel like that like this just feels too good to be true or we can feel like those who dream and I think it's a call as a reminder that we should in a way kind of feel out of place here on earth knowing that this is not our permanent place but there is a place that we ultimately long for and Advent carves out that time and reality to sit in that longing [00:22:20] (30 seconds)


joy is not the absence of sadness and putting on a happy face joy is sowing honest tears and creating space for God to meet us in this darkness joy is holding on to courage and gratitude we learn to be in his light and to follow his lead in Advent we learn to reap joy in the middle of our circumstances and it gives us the strength and ability to hold both hands and remembering that what is unseen is is far greater than what is seen. [00:27:14] (49 seconds)


Joy is an act of mercy and love and tangible care here on earth. And it reminds us, again, that sorrow is not our permanent place, but joy is. I love how C .S. Lewis describes joy. He says, all joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still about to be. [00:28:03] (34 seconds)


There are three invitations to you this morning to help make this a reality within your lives and the lives of your community. First, find time this week and ask yourself, which current circumstances do you need God to help you relearn joy? How can you sow your tears? [00:29:03] (25 seconds)