Tag Archives: Joy to the world

The Christmas gift of joy

Joy to the world, The Lord has come! Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing!

“Joy to the world” is a hallmark of the arrival of Christmas. But we might forget why the whole earth should rejoice. We might find that joy eludes us in the darkness of our lives, even at Christmas. For some Christmas is the darkest season, scarred by past memories that continue to cloud the light of joy in their lives. But even in that dark place, perhaps especially in that darkness, there is cause for certain joy.

Just as a family awaits the birth of a newborn child, the world waited for the birth of the Christ child. Shepherds were watching. Wise men were seeking. Paul describes creation as “groaning as in the pains of childbirth” for the Messiah Lord to be revealed not only to us, but IN us. (Romans 8:19-25)

Troubles continued but “Joy to the World, The Lord has come!”

Let earth receive her King. Jesus didn’t arrive in the manner accustomed to kings, nor did everyone receive him as King, then or today. But there is certain joy promised to those who do. To those who realize that Jesus is king at all times, when things seem good, and to when we are suffering.

Let everyone prepare Him room. There was no room for Him in the inn. Is there room for Him in your heart? Jesus proclaimed, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” John says that Jesus IS the Word. If we have no room in our lives for receiving and obeying His Word, where will we find true and lasting joy?

The gift of Christmas joy isn’t stifled by a messy manger. It isn’t subdued by past hurts or present circumstances. Joy is found in what we’ve already been given and in the anticipation of things yet to come.

Let your life proclaim, “Joy to the world, The Lord has come!”
Receive the gift of christmas Joy and remember, joy grows when we share it with others.

Let Earth Receive Her King!

A man came to a friend’s house with a big box wrapped in festive paper and bows. Handing the gift to his friend, the man says, “Merry Christmas!” The friend replied, “Thank you. would you please put it in the closet?” “Aren’t you going to open it?” the man asked? “Oh no,” answered the friend. “It is just nice to be remembered. After all, it is the thought that counts.”

I’m guessing you think that to be an absurd and unbelievable story. But it is the story of humanity. We have been offered a free gift, but it is of little use to us if we don’t receive it and open it. We celebrate Christmas to remind us that God sent his Son to the earth as his gift for each of us. God doesn’t want any of us to miss this gift. He wants us to experience the joy of his gift by receiving it and enjoying it fully. “Yet to those who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Have you received God’s gift? And if you have, are you enjoying the gift of Jesus fully throughout the busyness of your days? He is the very source of our greatest joy, this Christmas and beyond.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth RECEIVE her king!

Joy to the world, the Lord has come

Without doubt, one of the most beloved Christmas hymns, “Joy to the World,” continues to inspire us to the hope for a joy that transcends the earth. . . The sense of everything else being held in the suspension of time so we can experience the essence of real joy.

What does this joy look like to you? Is it the return home of a relative or friend you haven’t seen for a long time? Is it all the presents under the perfect decorated tree? Is it finally the ceasing from buying and decorating all those presents? Maybe to you the joy is found in giving and receiving those presents.

While there may be certain happiness found in all of those events, the song speaks of a different joy, one that came to all the world and that surpasses all the other earthly joy, the reason we celebrate Christmas: this is the joy that God has come to earth in human form to rescue us from our sin. Now THERE’S a gift we can celebrate!

Joy to the world, THE LORD has come!

I hope you don’t miss any of the joy that Jesus desires to bring to your Christmas!