May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).
Joy and peace are the two predominant themes of Christmas. Our carols are full of them: “Joy To The World,” “Silent Night,””Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” to name a few, all of which reference joy and peace in some form.
The message is clear: The peace and joy of Christmas refer to Jesus the Messiah coming to bring peace between God and Man, freedom from sin and guilt, and hope of eternal life, all of which result in great joy.
Indeed, it fills us with a joyful awe to think that God Himself became one of us in the form of a vulnerable baby boy, born under the radar screen of public notoriety and out of the sight of the religious establishment and the masses, so that he could defeat Satan, set us free from guilt and open the way to a relationship with Himself.
The way the world celebrates Christmas also promises peace and joy, and a “Christmas Spirit” of sorts. It is rooted in generosity, gift-giving, and togetherness, but remains on the surface because it is based on human effort, which is never lasting. The supernatural component is provided by Santa Claus, who comes to reward children for being obedient – an invented persona unmasked as a lie by the time a child reaches the age of 6 or 7. It feels good, but mixed in with the joy and peace of the “Christmas Spirit” is stress – dysfunctional family gatherings, kids wound up over presents or upset at what they didn’t get, overspending, overeating, and worrying about what to get for whom. And the joy and peace we felt tend to fade away as we head into a new year full of unpredictability and stress.
It’s a cheap imitation of the real peace and joy that come from knowing the real meaning of Christmas.
However, the deep and lasting joy and peace that accompany celebrating the birth of Jesus Messiah, the Prince of Peace, are not simply emotions we feel when we are reminded of the reason for the season.
They come from a deeper place. Or rather, they have an other-worldly source. The Apostle Paul explains that it is the God of hope Who fills us with all joy and peace in believing.
Let’s think about that for a moment.
Lasting joy and peace come from the God of hope. Hope is positive, upbeat. It believes the best for the future and, according to the Scripture, it is in God’s nature. He is the God of hope. Hope brings joy and peace – joy because hope removes worry about the future, and peace, because we know the present and future are in the hands of an Almighty God and that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:37-39).
The best part about this is that we don’t have to produce joy and peace in our own strength. We may pray that God fills us with them. And when He does, we know our hearts are not filled with mere human feelings of joy and peace (which are nice but tend to go up and down with our circumstances). Rather, they are filled with heavenly joy and peace. Those are of steadfast and indestructible quality because they come straight from the nature of God. They cannot crumble, let alone disappear, when tested by the realities of everyday life. We can crowd them to the background if we cease to keep in step with the Spirit. But as long as we abide in Him through daily communion, joy and peace everlasting are ours. The same joy and peace that are part of God’s attributes!
That knowledge caused martyrs facing torture and death to cast their eyes upon heaven with anticipation. It caused Horatio Spafford to pen the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” when he sailed past the spot where, a short time before, his four daughters had died when the ship on which they traveled to England sank. And it caused Corrie Ten Boom to proclaim: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.”
The result of being filled with the joy and peace of believing (i.e., wholeheartedly agreeing that the Bible and its gospel are true and that all its truths apply to you) is that we abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I can’t think of a greater, more steadfast hope than that powered by the Holy Spirit.
I hope that this Christmas you’ll join me in embracing joy, peace, and hope of a far superior quality than what our human hearts can muster, poured into us from heaven by the Holy Spirit. It will lead to a joyful faith in the truth of our salvation -for which Christ came into the world – and a life filled with the knowledge that He is with us and in us and is preparing a place for us in heaven. Nothing that the year 2026 will bring in ups and downs will be able to destroy the joy and peace that come from the God of hope.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Photo credit: John Tyson/Unsplash.
