Unspeakable and Full of Glory

Joy. Perhaps it's the Christmas word that does the most damage when misunderstood. This is a hard one to talk about because I'm typing away all this stuff all week and each morning I wake up sad and can't figure out why. I search my mind looking for what might be bothering me - can't put a finger on it. I start the day trusting that it will occupy my mind and bring trust back into focus. Its hard and my stuff is nothing compared to others I know.
I often hear that Christmas time is the most depressing time of the year. Disappointment, loneliness and feelings of abandonment abound. Perhaps this is because we've wrapped our expectations for Christmas in the wrong things. It happens in marriages when we look to our spouse for something that only God can give. Most of us often look elsewhere for something that only God can give us.
The true joy of Christmas has nothing to do with snow, a fire in the fireplace, cookies, sausage balls, cider, eggnog, or anything but the gift of God to humanity in the form of a human baby come to bring salvation to all who would believe. That aspect of Christmas will never change. When we get the wrong gift, Jesus is still savior. When the kids leave the nest, Jesus is still savior. When loved ones have passed on and there is an empty seat at dinner, Jesus is still savior. When our spouse has gone home before us, Jesus is still savior. Now all this could sound like an empty happy sentence if we claimed that joy and the results of these other situations were mutually exclusive. But once again we have to consider Paul's meaning when he said, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". We can be content in Christ no matter the situation in which we find ourselves. It is not our situation that brings joy, but our condition. We are reconciled to God; that is joy.
I know that seems like a tall order from someone who seems to have no reason not to be filled with joy. But it is a promise. We've got to claim these other three as well. We'll have trouble, but Jesus gives us peace. We hope in the promise. Again I remember Job: "though He slay me, still I will trust Him."
If Jesus is the source of our Joy, then no situation can rob us of it. We can feel crippled with grief but still have joy in the author and finisher of our faith. Jesus himself agonized emotionally over his coming crucifixion. He experienced physical agony during his crucifixion. However, "for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame". What could His joy have been? In knowing that going through that agony would bring us back into relationship Him? If we can be a source of joy to Jesus, then we can make every effort to allow Him to be our source of joy. This Christmas, may we not depend on dinners and decorations or even our loved ones to provide joy, may we gather our loved ones around us to share in the joy of our Savior.