Advent - The Joy Candle

During last Sunday’s church service, the worship team led us in singing “It Is Well With My Soul.” The words to the first verse are:

                              “When peace like a river, attendeth my way

                              When sorrows like sea billows roll

                              Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

                              It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Those words and that song immediately brought to my mind what true joy is.

I’ve adopted author Brant Hansen’s definition of the word “joy” – “a pervasive sense of wellbeing regardless of the circumstances.”

Do you ever associate certain people in your life with certain words? When I hear the word “joy,” the first person that comes to mind is one friend in particular.

She’s experienced the loss of a very young son. She’s covered in constant prayer all of her children, but especially a daughter who’s struggled with alcohol addiction. She’s shown that daughter and her daughter’s children the path to life in Christ. She’s shown up when those grandkids needed someone to be there and support them in every manner and means possible. She and her husband have sacrificed financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually to bless their children and grandchildren.

Have there been tears? Buckets of them. But this girl counts every little blessing and sings God’s praises at every opportunity. She claims and clings to every promise God has ever made. One that I’ve heard many times from her lips and on the pages of her notes is Psalm 27:13: “I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.” She radiates peace and walks in confident hope that God will come through in every situation. He has promised, and He will deliver. That, my friends, is what joy looks like.

My friend follows in the footsteps of a long line of joy-filled believers over the centuries – men and women who determined to trust in God’s promises whether or not they lived to see those promises come to pass.

Abraham (100 years old) believed God and became the father of many nations – after fathering his only son from his wife Sarah (90 years old). (Genesis 17:17)

Moses believed God could part the sea and make a dry path for the Israelites to escape slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 14:22)

Joshua believed God could bring down the walls of Jericho with only trumpet blasts and a mighty shout. (Joshua 6:20)

David believed God could enable him to take down a blasphemous giant with a sling and a stone. (1 Samuel 17:50)

And faithful men and women believed that a Messiah promised by God for centuries would come to save them from their sins. (Isaiah 49:6, Matthew 1:21)

All who believe God experience true joy – “a pervasive sense of wellbeing regardless of the circumstances.” All who believe God know that everything will be okay – maybe not now or in their lifetimes or for centuries to come. But like my friend, they know God, they trust God, and they rest in God. They’ve found joy, and all is well with their souls.

Our Savior has come, and He will come again. God promised it, and we can believe it.

Rejoice, and light the candle! We have Joy!