When things went poorly for my sister, she blurted out, “Oh joy.”  She was neither happy nor joyful when she uttered her joyless “Oh joy.”

The angel in the Christmas story spoke to the frightened shepherds about joy when he said, “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David.”

I read of some Harvard University medical residents speaking of their joyless lives after attaining nearly every academic award imaginable.  And I know woman with a debilitating disease who virtually explodes with joy on a daily basis.  Joy is a kind of delight based on the unchanging eternal reality of God’s constant love and mercy.  Happiness is fickle.  I quite happily enjoy Christmas carols playing on the CD player until someone cuts me off in the traffic.

The message portrayed throughout the Bible is that joy actually is commanded.  The Psalmist says, “Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.”  The Apostle Paul wrote, “Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again – rejoice.”

The central theme of joy in the Bible is the joy of knowing God’s presence.  In Psalm 16 David writes, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”

Psalm 43 announces, “Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me.  Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.  There I will go to the altar of God, to God – the source of all my joy.”

Joy is the second of the nine fruits of the Spirit mentioned in the book of Galatians.  Love, joy and peace are named sequentially, and these three virtues mainly reflect our attitude towards God.  We are to love God first and foremost.  Our chief joy is our joy in God, and our deepest peace is our peace with God.

Joy is not the result of favorable circumstances.  This world is not our home, and is full hardship.  And yet, joy can even occur when life’s circumstances are the most painful and difficult.  Jesus spoke to his followers about joy before his crucifixion with these words, “Truly, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice.  You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy when you see me again.” (John 16:20)

Jesus himself apparently experienced that same joy in the midst of facing his own crucifixion.  “He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward,” says Hebrews 12:2

It is no surprise, then, that the first challenge in the book of James says, “Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”  (James 1:4)

Joy is a sense of well being we can experience when he know that all is well between us and God, regardless of the circumstances.  King David had experienced the joy of God before committing both adultery and murder.  Later he repented of his horrible transgressions and prayed, “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” 

God himself experiences joy when people return to him, as King David did.  Jesus once told a story of a lost sheep and said, “If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it?  And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. … In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Today I choose to be filled with joy, knowing that I am safe in the arms of God.  Whatever my circumstances, I know that I am loved by one much greater than I.  And I am opting again this year to raise my voice saying, “Joy to the world; the Lord is come; let earth receive her King!”  I will not let the world steal that joy.