The Joy in Family (Day 1)
Joy Find You First
We think joy comes after we get it right. But what if joy doesn't work that way? What if joy isn't something we achieve but something we receive?
Luke 2:10 (ESV)
"And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'"
Devotional Thought
We are looking for joy in all the wrong places.
So many of us think joy comes after we get it right. After the kids behave. After the marriage improves. After we finally become the people we think we should be. We treat joy like a paycheck. Something we earn at the end of hard work.
But here's what I need you to know. Joy doesn't work that way. Joy isn't the reward for obedience. Joy is the reason for it.
Some of you reading this today are already exhausted from trying to manufacture joy. You're doing everything right and feeling nothing at all. You've checked the boxes. You've made the effort. And still, joy feels like a stranger in your home.
That changes today.
In Luke chapter 2, we find a group of shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem. These men weren't seeking a spiritual experience. They weren't at the temple praying. They were just doing their job in the dark. Watching sheep. Ordinary work on an ordinary night.
And then the incredible happened. An angel appeared. The glory of the Lord shone around them. And the angel said something that changed everything. "I bring you good news of great joy."
Notice what the angel said. I bring you. Not "Here's how you can find joy." Not "Here's what you must do to earn joy." The angel brought joy to them. Joy came looking for the shepherds long before they ever thought to look for it.
This is where true joy lives. Not in our circumstances. Not in our performance. Not in our ability to get life right. Joy lives in the announcement of who Christ is.
Just like the shepherds, your ordinary life is prime for God's glory to invade. The prophet Nehemiah told the people that the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). That joy doesn't come from you. It comes from Him. And it comes to you.
Right now, some of you are working so hard to achieve joy in your family. You're trying to read the good book. Put food on the table. Help a neighbor in need. Give to the church. And you still wonder where the joy is.
You have no idea that the joy you're working for has already been given to you.
True joy comes not from what we achieve but from what we receive.
Tomorrow, we'll discover that joy often arrives in our most ordinary moments...the places we least expect God to show up.
So many of us think joy comes after we get it right. After the kids behave. After the marriage improves. After we finally become the people we think we should be. We treat joy like a paycheck. Something we earn at the end of hard work.
But here's what I need you to know. Joy doesn't work that way. Joy isn't the reward for obedience. Joy is the reason for it.
Some of you reading this today are already exhausted from trying to manufacture joy. You're doing everything right and feeling nothing at all. You've checked the boxes. You've made the effort. And still, joy feels like a stranger in your home.
That changes today.
In Luke chapter 2, we find a group of shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem. These men weren't seeking a spiritual experience. They weren't at the temple praying. They were just doing their job in the dark. Watching sheep. Ordinary work on an ordinary night.
And then the incredible happened. An angel appeared. The glory of the Lord shone around them. And the angel said something that changed everything. "I bring you good news of great joy."
Notice what the angel said. I bring you. Not "Here's how you can find joy." Not "Here's what you must do to earn joy." The angel brought joy to them. Joy came looking for the shepherds long before they ever thought to look for it.
This is where true joy lives. Not in our circumstances. Not in our performance. Not in our ability to get life right. Joy lives in the announcement of who Christ is.
Just like the shepherds, your ordinary life is prime for God's glory to invade. The prophet Nehemiah told the people that the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). That joy doesn't come from you. It comes from Him. And it comes to you.
Right now, some of you are working so hard to achieve joy in your family. You're trying to read the good book. Put food on the table. Help a neighbor in need. Give to the church. And you still wonder where the joy is.
You have no idea that the joy you're working for has already been given to you.
True joy comes not from what we achieve but from what we receive.
Tomorrow, we'll discover that joy often arrives in our most ordinary moments...the places we least expect God to show up.
Application Questions
1. In what areas of your life have you been trying to earn joy through your own efforts?
2. How does knowing that joy finds you first change the way you approach today?
2. How does knowing that joy finds you first change the way you approach today?
Today's Challenge
Stop trying to manufacture joy today. Instead, pause three times and simply say, "Lord, help me receive the joy You've already given."
Today's Prayer
Father, I confess that I have been looking for joy in all the wrong places. I have treated joy like something I must earn. Today, I choose to receive what You have already given. Open my eyes to see that Your joy is not waiting for me at the end of my efforts. It is here right now. Help me receive what I could never achieve. In Jesus' name, amen.
Posted in Joy-FFC
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