As we enter this Christmas holiday season may we remember,

The son of God came with angels broadcasting great JOY. (Luke 2:10)

Before leaving the world, Jesus said, “…I have spoken to you, that My JOY may be in you, and that your JOY may be made full.” John 15:11

Jesus arrives in JOY, departs in JOY, and calls us to great JOY through fellowship with Him.

In a book I read it said, “Joy is a far more dynamic, forceful weapon than most of us realize. The abiding sense that you are fiercely loved by God…. that kind of JOY empowers you to rise above any circumstance.” (I think from Fight Back With Joy by Margaret )

In my devotional it said, “Joy does not come from positive predictions about the state of the world. It does not depend on the ups and downs of the circumstances of our lives.

Joy is based on the spiritual knowledge that, while the world in which we live is shrouded in darkness, God has overcome the world. Jesus says it loudly and clearly: ‘In the world you will have troubles, but rejoice, I have overcome the world.’

The surprise is not that, unexpectedly, things turn out better than expected. No, the real surprise is that God’s light is more powerful than all the darkness, that God’s truth is more powerful than all human lies, that God’s love is stronger than death.” (Here and Now by Henri Nouwen)

This Christmas season let us choose JOY.

We choose how we look at the world. We choose the thoughts we think about our circumstances, about the situations of our lives.

We choose the thoughts we think about the people in our lives, about our relationships.

How we think determines how we feel, and we act from our feelings.

Let us choose to think good, positive, encouraging, understanding, kind, Truth thoughts.

Let us choose to believe the best and be hopeful.

Our brains want to make what we think come true. So, if we are thinking it is going to be bad then we will see all the ways in which it is bad.

BUT if we choose JOY, if we choose to be hopeful, positive, and believe the best we will see the good.

This takes practice. We must practice choosing what we think. We have the power to manage our minds.

Some of us have learned to think negative thoughts, to see things in negative ways or assume the worst. This is a learned behavior so we can unlearn it.

We can practice thinking positive thoughts and begin to see the positives no matter what our circumstances.

I am not saying this is easy. Bad things will happen. There will be things that disappoint us, frustrate us, are unfair, do not make sense, and we need to feel our feelings BUT we do not have to get stuck there.

Just the other evening I got some disappointing, frustrating, I could even call it heart-breaking news that immediately caused my mood to change. I wanted to vent. I wanted to be mad.

But because I have been practicing choosing my thoughts, I also knew that venting or getting mad were not going to change what had happened and those responses would just make my evening and everyone around me that evening miserable.

So, I went in my room, took a few deep breaths, and said a prayer. Then went back out and made dinner. As the thoughts about this circumstance came back because that is how our minds work, I took deep breaths and tried to refocus on what I was thankful for. Even as I wrote this the thoughts and feelings came back. But I am thankful I have been practicing mind management so I can acknowledge them and let them go.

I share because we are human, and this is how God made us. This is all part of it. Let us acknowledge this. Then may we choose to practice showing up well.

We are resilient. We are adaptable. We have the power to change.

We have the power to choose our thoughts. It does not mean we ignore the hard things or do not feel them, it means we do not get stuck there. We move through them.

We choose JOY.

JOY in the HOPE of something better.

JOY as we trust that God is in control even when things seem out of control.

We choose JOY when things do not work out as we would like.  

JOY because Jesus came to the world.

JOY because we know we are loved by God.

JOY because our worth and value are in Jesus Christ, in who He says we are, not in what we do or accomplish.

This holiday season, may we show up with JOY and offer JOY to others.

Let us celebrate that we are here, that we are making the most of every opportunity, and enjoying this gift we call life.