Advent is upon us, the season of preparation and anticipation of the arrival of the King; Emmanual, God with us. The traditional theme of the third Sunday in Advent is ‘Joy.’
Who doesn’t want joy? Joy to the world. You’re an absolute joy to be around. Find your joy. Help yourself to an Almond Joy. But what does joy mean from a Biblical perspective?
The good folks at the Bible Project explain it this way:
“We often think about joy as an experience of happiness based on favorable circumstances: a stroke of good luck, a personal achievement, or a long-held desire finally being satisfied. But when joy depends on circumstances, it fades fast when the good times end.
Advent joy is not about general happiness stemming from good times. It’s a deep sense of safety and freedom people feel because of God’s loving character, which remains constant through all circumstances, and because God can be trusted to ultimately bless and heal creation as he promised. Similar to the joy a friend’s presence brings on good days and bad, we experience joy as God walks with us through the fluctuations of life’s positive and painful circumstances.
In the Bible, people express joy both when God delivers them from situations of oppression and while still in the middle of exile, persecution, and pain. As people remember God’s loving, rescuing actions throughout history, they wait in joyful hope for him to act in the future, even when that waiting requires patient suffering.
This kind of joy is about being united with the God who walks with us and trusting that he will one day wipe away every tear. It looks to the future but also takes root in our present reality. The season of Advent invites us to experience joy not because everything is perfect but because God is with us and his joy is already breaking into the world.”
Joy can seem fleeting in this world. One minute we’re up, the next we’re down. Joy that is tied to circumstances or material things can be that way. But when our joy is centered on eternal hope, peace, and love – and the promise of our future destiny – it can be life altering.
In this season that brings us Good News of Great Joy, may we all choose Joy.
P.A. Tennant – Advent, 2025
Soli Deo Gloria
Video: The Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/videos/chara-joy/
Copyright 2025 Paul A. Tennant
Substack: https://storyroad.substack.com
Website: https://patennant.com/
P.A. Tennant 