"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger."

Let us go.

That's what the shepherds said to one another. They had heard the announcement. They had received the good news of great joy. But now they had a decision to make. Would they stay in their fields or would they go?

They went with haste.

Here's what I need you to know. This is what embracing joy looks like. It doesn't ask permission. It doesn't wait for more information. It goes with haste.

Can I just say this? All the shepherds had was a sign. Not a map. Not detailed directions. Just a sign. "You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." That's it.

And they went anyway.

Some of you are waiting for a clearer path before you embrace joy. You want all the details figured out. You want guarantees. You want to know exactly how everything will work out before you move.

But joy is not in finding the path. Joy is in the fact that there is one.

Not because the marriage is fixed, but because it's fixable. Not because the bills are paid, but because they're payable. Not because your health is perfect, but because healing is possible.

Just like a construction worker who builds according to blueprints he trusts even when he can't see the finished building, faith moves forward on the basis of what God has revealed...not what we can see completed.

Verse 16 tells us they found exactly what they had been told. The baby was there. The manger was there. The sign matched the promise.

Joy is not wishful thinking. Joy is not denial. Joy is not pretending things are better than they are. Joy stands on verified truth. The shepherds didn't create joy. They embraced a reality. The Savior had been born. That was a fact. Their job was not to produce a feeling but to respond to the truth.

And notice this. They couldn't verify the announcement without going. The sign was in Bethlehem. They had to leave the fields. They had to move toward what had been proclaimed.

Some of you are waiting for joy to find you in your fields. But joy has already been announced. The question is whether you will go with haste to embrace what has been made known to you.

Tomorrow, we'll discover what happens when we return to our ordinary lives after embracing this incredible reality.

1. What is keeping you from embracing the joy that has already been announced?
2. What would it look like for you to "go with haste" toward what God has made known to you?

Identify one step you've been hesitant to take because you don't have all the details. Take that step today. Trust the sign. Go with haste.