Day 25: Joy to World

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!” Psalm 98:4

It is Christmas morning!  I’ll be honest with you; I’m waking up to a quieter Christmas than I had expected and hoped for.  Due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases, my son and his family will not be joining us for Christmas brunch and the rest of the Christmas festivities.  I will miss my grandson’s first Christmas.  I will miss seeing my son indulge in his favorite Christmas treats.  I will miss creating memories with my daughter-in-law and her teasing my husband about his love of tinsel.  I will miss celebrating Christmas with our friends, the Caron family.  Instead, their Christmas presents sit under the tree, with hopes to be together as soon as we can.  The decision was hard, the tears did flow, but, ultimately, it was the right and responsible thing to do.

I have spent all of December posting micro-blogs exploring Advent through scripture, songs, books, and movies.  I’ve written about the importance of choosing to hope in hard seasons and remaining calm during stressful times.  When I started these micro-blogs. I had no idea how much they would minister to me.  Both the research and the writing has challenged me in so many ways.  I believe that God knew what my Christmas morning would look like, and now He is asking me, “Do you really believe what you write?”

My answer to that question is a resounding “Yes!”  So, this Christmas morning, join with me in celebrating hope in the form of Jesus Christ.  I am going to start my morning out by listening to the song “Joy to the World”. I hope you find time in your day to listen to this familiar carol.  When researching the lyrics of this song, I discovered that Isaac Watts wrote this song based on David’s words in Psalm 98.  Even though we sing this carol at Christmas, it is so much more than about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.  It is a celebration praise about Jesus’ second return.  When Jesus comes again, sin and sorrows will no longer grow.  He will rule the world with truth and grace!!   All of heaven and nature will sing about His wonderous love!!  Merry Christmas, and I hope you find your day filled with joy and hope!