Seeking Jesus: Finding Lasting Joy Through Surrender

Devotional

Day 1: Rediscovering Joy: From Routine to Relationship

Many arrive at December with the story feeling familiar, even thin from repetition, and the joy gets diluted by busy calendars and expectations. The invitation is to see it fresh again—not to chase a new angle, but to come back to the heart of it. Lasting joy isn’t tied to a holiday mood or a snowfall; it’s rooted in a Person who doesn’t change. Let your traditions serve the relationship, not replace it. Ask God to re-center your attention on Jesus so your joy doesn’t melt with the season. May your heart be drawn from routine into relationship, from cliche into living wonder [03:15]

Hebrews 13:8: Jesus the Messiah does not change—who He was before, He is now, and He will always be.

Reflection: Where have your Christmas habits quietly pushed Jesus to the edges, and what is one simple practice you will adopt this week to re-center your focus on Him each day?

Day 2: Joy That Overflows, Not Manufactured Hype

The joy of the wise men wasn’t polite or forced; it erupted—an honest, overflowing response. Emotions aren’t dictators, but they are indicators; they show what we love, fear, and long for. Instead of trying to fake delight, bring your longings to Jesus and let real joy be born from Him. Ask Him to meet you where desire and need are deepest. Let your heart learn again that Jesus alone fills what it truly seeks [04:50]

Matthew 2:10–11: When they saw the star come to rest, their joy surged beyond measure. Entering the house, they found the child with Mary, bowed low to the ground in reverence, and honored Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented Him with gold, incense, and myrrh.

Reflection: When you sit quietly with Jesus, which emotion rises first, and how might you turn that honest feeling into a simple prayer today?

Day 3: Seeking Jesus With Purpose, Not Mixed Motives

Not everyone who seeks Jesus does so for the same reasons. Some come to worship; others, like Herod, approach with self-protective or self-serving aims. Let your search be honest—less about what you hope to get and more about who He truly is. Ask the Spirit to sift your motives and purify them into worship. Come not to negotiate, but to adore [11:02]

Matthew 2:2, 13: They asked, “Where is the child born King of the Jews? We saw His star rise and have come to honor Him.” Later, an angel warned Joseph to leave at once, because Herod was going to search for the child to kill Him.

Reflection: If you were to put words to why you’re seeking Jesus this week, what motive would you need Him to lovingly reshape into worship?

Day 4: Persistent Seeking—With All Your Heart And Soul

Seeking Jesus is not a quick glance under the table; it is a long obedience that keeps knocking. The wise men crossed costly miles with patient resolve, refusing to hand the journey off to someone else. God promises to be found, and He means it—but He invites a whole-hearted pursuit, not a casual add-on. Give Him not just minutes, but your attention, your questions, your perseverance. Keep going until you meet the real Jesus, not a secondhand summary [13:48]

Jeremiah 29:13: You will find Me when you search for Me with your whole heart—when you chase after Me with everything within you.

Reflection: What specific time and place will you set aside in the next three days to seek Jesus with undivided attention, and what will you do there?

Day 5: Surrendered Posture, Honest Praise, Sacrificial Gifts

When the wise men arrived, they didn’t strut; they bowed. Confidence before God is not arrogance—it’s humble assurance rooted in Jesus’ welcome, and it shows in our posture, our words, and our generosity. Worship names who He is—King, Divine, and Savior—and our gifts echo His worth when they are significant and sacrificial. Consider how your resources—time, home, table, and funds—can say, “Jesus, You are worthy.” Let surrender open the door to durable joy [24:34]

Matthew 2:11: They entered the house, saw the child with His mother, dropped to the ground in homage, and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and offered Him gifts: gold fit for a king, incense for the divine, and myrrh foretelling His sacrifice.

Reflection: What is one costly, concrete act of worship—of time, attention, or resources—you will plan this week to declare Jesus’ worth?

Sermon Summary

Every December I feel the tug to find a “fresh angle,” and yet the invitation isn’t to novelty—it’s to see the same beautiful story with fresh hearts. I urged us to let the Magi lead us there. Their joy wasn’t seasonal sentiment; Matthew says they “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy”—an intensity that erupted when they finally arrived where the star rested. That level of joy doesn’t come from ambience, snow, or songs. It comes from finding a Person. If our joy evaporates on January 1, we likely tied it to a season instead of to Jesus.

We also need to make peace with emotion. Joy is an emotion, and Scripture doesn’t banish emotions from faith. Emotions are not dictators, but they are indicators; they expose our longings. If joy in Jesus feels distant, that’s not something to fake—it’s an indicator worth heeding. It may mean our desires have drifted elsewhere.

The Magi show us a path: seek with purpose and persistence. Purpose, because not everyone who “seeks” Jesus is seeking to worship Him—Herod sought to destroy. We examine our motives: am I here for comfort, favor, or tradition—or to adore the King? Persistence, because God promises to be found by those who seek Him with all their heart. The Magi took a long, costly journey and refused to outsource the last mile. Don’t settle for a secondhand Jesus or a five‑minute search. Go the distance to know the real Christ.

When they found Him, they surrendered. Their posture—faces to the ground—was humility, not swagger. Their praise confessed who He is. Their possessions—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—were both significant and sacrificial, proclaiming His kingship, divinity, and saving death. That is the shape of Christian joy: seek and surrender. As a church, our “All In” rhythm is one tangible way we practice that surrender together—time, talent, and treasure offered in love, not compulsion. My prayer is that the Lord would anchor our joy in Jesus—steady, deep, and lasting—through purposeful seeking and wholehearted surrender.

Key Takeaways

1. Root joy in the Person. We lose joy when it’s attached to a month, a mood, or our plans. Joy rooted in Jesus endures because He is unchanging in glory and goodness. Seasons shift, memories fade, but He remains Lord. Seek the Giver, not the holiday glow. [02:48]
2. Let emotions tell the truth. Joy is an emotion Scripture welcomes, not fears. Emotions are indicators; they reveal our loves and our anxieties. If joy in Christ feels thin, listen—your heart may be asking for lesser gods. Bring that truth into prayer and repentance. [06:39]
3. Seek Jesus with whole motives. Herod “sought” Jesus too, but for himself. We can chase Christ for comfort, reputation, or crisis management and still miss worship. Ask the pointed question: am I seeking Him to adore Him, or to use Him? [11:02]
4. Persistence that costs and continues. God promises to be found when we seek Him with all our heart, not with leftover minutes. The Magi bore distance, expense, and delay—and would not stop short. Real pursuit resists convenience, embraces cost, and goes the last mile to the real Jesus. [13:24]
5. Surrender by posture, praise, possessions. Fallen faces announce a yielded heart; worship confesses His worth; costly gifts declare His kingship, divinity, and saving purpose. Joy grows where self shrinks and Jesus is magnified. Let your generosity—of time, attention, and resources—speak His worth. [22:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:43] - When Christmas feels routine
[02:48] - Joy tied to season vs Person
[04:18] - Exceeding joy of the Magi
[06:39] - Emotions as indicators, not dictators
[08:51] - Seek Jesus with right purpose
[11:42] - Seek with persistence, not convenience
[13:24] - Seek with all your heart
[14:41] - The Magi’s costly journey
[16:58] - Don’t settle for secondhand Jesus
[19:01] - Surrender: posture before the King
[22:51] - Gifts that proclaim who He is
[24:34] - Significant and sacrificial generosity
[28:48] - All In: our Christmas rhythm
[31:05] - A shared act of worship
[33:02] - Prayer over the offering

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Matthew 2:1–12

Observation questions

In Matthew 2:10–11, what action words describe what the Magi did when they arrived (e.g., how they felt, how they moved, what they offered)?
In Matthew 2, what contrast do you see between the Magi’s purpose in seeking Jesus and Herod’s purpose (vv. 2, 13)?
What concrete signs of persistence and cost are highlighted about the Magi’s journey (distance, expense, refusing to hand off the “last mile”)? [16:58]
Matthew stacks words to describe their joy: “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” What does that wording communicate about the intensity and source of their joy? [04:18]

Interpretation questions

Why does joy tend to evaporate when it’s tied mainly to a season, mood, or ambience rather than to a Person? What does this reveal about where joy is rooted? [02:48]
If emotions are not dictators but indicators, how can joy (or the lack of it) help someone discern what the heart is really longing for? What might be exposed when joy in Christ feels thin? [06:39]
God promises to be found when sought “with all your heart.” What does “with all your heart” suggest about priority, time, and endurance in seeking? How is that different from a casual, five‑minute search? [13:24]
How can someone come before God with confidence without slipping into arrogance? What does humble, confident approach look like in practice? [20:29]

Application questions

Where is your joy currently anchored—calendar, traditions, circumstances, or Christ Himself? What one change this week could help re‑anchor joy in Jesus beyond January 1? [02:48]
If emotions are indicators, where does your heart run for joy right now? Name one “lesser god” that competes with love for Jesus, and how you will bring that into prayer and repentance this week. [06:39]
Do a motive check: In what area are you tempted to “use” Jesus (for comfort, reputation, or crisis management) rather than adore Him? What would repentance and re‑aimed worship look like? [11:02]
What would it take for you to seek Jesus “with all your heart” in the next seven days? Name a specific time, place, and practice—and one “last‑mile” step you won’t outsource (e.g., opening the Bible yourself, unhurried prayer). [17:48]
Consider your posture before the King. Is there a place in life where pride keeps you from bowing low—physically or in heart? What humble step will you take before God this week? [19:01]
Let your praise confess who He is. Which truths will you declare out loud in worship this week—His kingship, His divinity, His saving death? How might that confession shape your day? [23:18]
Surrender your possessions with significance and sacrifice. What is one tangible way—time, attention, or resources—you will offer something costly to Jesus this month as an act of worship? How will you plan it, not just give leftovers? [28:48]

Sermon Clips

He is using his wording to convey that this wasn't just some casual kind of joy. This joy conveyed an intensity of it. Like it's exceedingly, when this word that Matthew used for exceedingly speaks of this like violence. Now, not a cruel kind of violence, but an intensity of violence. Like joy was exploding from these men. They were so pumped to have found the place where the star had come to rest. It wasn't just like, oh, we got here. It was like, we're here. This is it. This is what we have been searching for. [00:04:36] (36 seconds) #ExplosiveJoy

For us, that means when we come to this conversation, we start talking about our joy and finding joy in Jesus. It's not just to say, hey, kind of conjure it up. It's not there to just say, hey, can we kind of fool ourselves into being excited and joyful this Christmas? Can we kind of just hype ourselves up to be excited about Jesus? No, to find joy in Jesus shows and indicates to us that we have this longing in our hearts that Jesus fulfills. That only Jesus can fulfill. [00:07:23] (32 seconds) #JesusFulfillsLonging

They deal with a lot along their journey. But I want to recognize that when we talk about seeking Jesus, some of us will kind of do the quick form of seeking Jesus, as if we're playing hide-and-seek with a toddler. You ever played hide-and-seek with a toddler before? You've been there? It's not exactly hard to do. I watched yesterday as my boys were playing hide-and-seek with each other, and one of them just sat under the dining room table. And the other, Henry walks in and is like, ha, I found you. Like that. And that's what we treat seeking Jesus like. [00:11:42] (33 seconds) #SeekWithDepth

Like as if Jesus is playing hide-and-seek with us as if he's a toddler sitting under the table. And so we'll go and we're going to say, okay, I'm going to seek Jesus, but we play the game per se as if we were seeking a toddler. And we grow frustrated when we find out that, why is it that I gave five minutes of my day to seek Jesus and I don't feel like I found it? I don't feel like I found him. I don't feel like I really discovered where he's at or what he's all about. And we get frustrated with it, and then we quit the game. [00:12:15] (29 seconds) #NoFiveMinuteFaith

They show up and they're like, where is he? Because we want to go and worship him. They don't talk to Herod and say, hey, can you take this to the end of the road and entrust it to someone else? No, their diligence says they're going to go and they find Jesus. And so to diligently seek Jesus, I encourage you in this, is to go and not settle for anything less than the real and authentic Jesus. And for us today, that might mean having to have some honest conversations about who Jesus is. [00:16:57] (25 seconds) #SeekAuthenticJesus

These men, their posture conveys that they have submitted themselves to the king. Now for us, when we talk about our posture, we recognize that our posture is not just one of a physical posture, right? Many of you, maybe you've never even experienced the idea of bowing before God physically. You got on your hands and your knees and you put your face on the ground and you've bowed before. Maybe that seems foreign. And we also know that what God has called us to is not just the physical posture, but really a posture of our hearts. [00:19:39] (30 seconds) #PostureOfTheHeart

That we are welcome there, but not on our own merits. We are welcome there because of what Jesus has accomplished. We are welcome there in his authority. We are welcome there in his blood. And so we come with confidence, yes, but humility. Confidence that knows who we are. Confidence that knows who it is that we've come before. Confidence that recognizes that we have entered into the presence of the divine. That we have come before the creator God, the alpha and the omega. God almighty. [00:20:57] (39 seconds) #ConfidentInChrist

Surrender is also seen in their praise. We see in our text that not only did they fall down, but they worshipped Jesus. And this idea of worship here in the wording is one that demonstrates his worthiness. And no doubt as these guys are bowing for Jesus, you've got to imagine they're explaining, this is why we've come. We saw the star. We know what the star means. We've come to worship you. And there's a confession of things that are true about Jesus. So this Christmas season, as we confess those things, as we worship Jesus, do you affirm the things that the Bible has called true of him? [00:21:37] (40 seconds) #WorshipAffirmsTruth

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