DAY 7 CHRISTMAS GOOD NEWS: THE QUEST AND FIGHT FOR JOY

Decorations and lights started going up as early as September. Christmas is indeed long in the Philippines, spanning from September to January. People's online carts are full of things they would be giving as gifts, waiting to check out on the next flash sale. 

Despite the colorful streets and jampacked malls, some still remark, "I don't feel the Christmas spirit this year." The holiday joy that we felt as children slowly diminished as we grew up. It may be the busyness or the bills we have to pay. It may even be the dread of the traffic or people we have to face--joy somehow became a grand yet unattainable idea. 

How can we get our joy back? What does the Bible say about joy?

Galatians 5:22 talks about the fruit of the Spirit and that joy is one of it. Charles Spurgeon suggests that the order of which the fruit of the Spirit is listed is not coincidental but instructional. Next to love, we are to exercise joy. Joy in this passage is not a feeling, but as we grow in love, it's something we experience and grow in.

Many factors affect our emotions. Often times, sorrow overpowers our glee, and joy is all the more out of reach. But the Bible teaches us, 

"Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." (Psalm 30:5b) 

Weeping may last for more nights, but the verse declares that joy will come. It may even sprout even in the midst of our sorrow. People and circumstances can steal our joy, but as we walk with Christ, He becomes the anchor of our joy. No matter our season, that truth allows to sing, "Joy to world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King!" May the Lord's presence fill you with inexplicable joy this Christmas season.