Joy to the World

Joy to the world. It seems almost a little too daring to say that this year, doesn’t it? A little bit in-your-face, considering 2020 has not exactly been a year most of us would consider super fun. For so many people this year has been one of terrible loss, anxiety and stress – hardly joy-inducing. It can be hard to find the joy when we see so much pain in our world, both near and dear, and far. It’s a good thing this famous Christmas carol isn’t depending on us being the ones to bring joy to this world, isn’t it?

Christmas is a funny celebration. As Christians, we revere it next to Easter as one of the holiest and most special times of the year. But for many people, it’s all about tinsel and twinkling lights, Hallmark movies, and showing loved ones how much they mean to you by how much you’re willing to spend on them. Christmas, designed by God to see the Savior of the world offer peace and goodwill to all, can often be a time of stress and conflict with others—even for Christians.

I have a few confessions: I haven’t done all my Christmas shopping. My Christmas tree isn’t up yet, and I haven’t planned what I’m cooking for Christmas Day. I’ve been a little (okay, very!) busy writing and releasing new books and planning to independently publish a new series next year, and these Christmassy things haven’t exactly been top priority. But to be completely honest, I’ve found it doesn’t matter how organized I am or how many presents are sitting, nicely wrapped, under my magazine-cover-worthy Christmas tree if my heart is filled with angst and stress.

I’m trying to do things differently this year. I’m trying to make this Christmas more about Jesus Christ, and less about me. I want my life and heart to reflect more of Jesus’s gift of salvation, which offers peace and goodwill to all people, and less of the chaos and crazy credit-card crunching involved in purchasing the so-called “perfect” present, which will prove to be all-too-fleeting in its giving of real joy.

Presents are nice, but if my heart is filled with stress and clutter, then it doesn’t matter what I give or receive, I won’t be experiencing—or sharing—joy.

Real joy. Deep joy. The kind that flows deeper than our circumstances, the kind that’s connected to the hope that is found through salvation in Jesus Christ. I was reminded a few weeks ago during my Bible reading about how we hold this precious hope of salvation in jars of clay. I like how the New Living Translation puts this:

“For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Cor. 4:6-10)

How appropriate are these verses in light of this past year? So many of us have felt pressed and perplexed and troubled and knocked down by COVID and other challenging circumstances. But we’re not crushed or destroyed or abandoned by God.

How good it is to know that this treasure remains, despite our circumstances. We may feel like 2020 has knocked out the stuffing out of us, but no matter what has happened (or will happen), the light of Jesus Christ continues to shine in our hearts.

How good to know it is not our own efforts that bring light and joy to others. Rather, it’s the living hope within our hearts that others see, despite us. We are frail, fragile, broken vessels that are filled with the glory of God, Jesus Christ, the hope of the world. Our lives don’t have to be flawless. We don’t have to strive for perfection (phew!). Rather, it’s in the broken mess of trouble and hard knocks and pain that others see God working in and through us. Striving for perfection—even to have a perfect Christmas—is really only pride talking. And God is simply interested in our hearts being soft enough to be used by him.

God will use the broken pieces of our lives to show others that Jesus is in the business of mending hearts. God can use our flaws and pain to encourage others that we don’t have to be holy to seek and find Him. God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them (see Rom. 8:28). All situations can be used by God, the Redeemer, who redeems our lives for his plans and purposes.

That’s so encouraging, isn’t it? We may feel like we’ve reached the Christmas season battered and bruised after a tough year, but Christmas is a wonderful reminder that God is still working. We may feel like there are far too many cracks in our lives, but those cracks are shining God-truth and God-light to others. We may feel fragile and ordinary, but this reminds us that it is God’s power at work that’s important and not our own efforts. It also shows other people that God is real, and really works in people’s lives. Jesus, the treasure living in our hearts, truly brings joy to the world.

You may feel like you can’t sing a joyful song to God, but be encouraged: God’s song of joy can be sung through you—at Christmas, and all throughout the year.

From my family to yours, God bless you this Christmas.

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher. A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency novels include Joy to the World: A Regency Christmas Novella Collection, available now wherever books are sold. Connect with her at carolynmillerauthor.com.