JoySample

Joy Defined: A Promise Made Personal

An acceptance letter from our dream school, a job offer we’ve been waiting for, or the delight of our wedding day-- these are often our definitions of joy.

The Old Testament contains joyful promises of the Messiah, who would come to restore the relationship between God and his creation. He would free the captives, heal the sick and make all things new. Through these prophecies, God meant to encourage his people and give them hope to endure life’s hardships.

For generations, the people of God faithfully passed down these prophecies to their children. They were to recall God’s acts of deliverance and promises of salvation and trust that one day, each one would come to pass.

As recorded in Luke 1, Gabriel appears to Mary hundreds of years after these spoken prophecies. After hearing his message, Mary travels to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth greets her joyfully, immediately acknowledging that Mary carries the long-awaited Messiah.

Blown away by this greeting, Mary cannot contain her joy. She bursts out into a song of thankful praise to God. Her song celebrates the Messiah, the Savior who has come to rescue his people. It’s a declaration that God remembers his promises and shows mercy to all who fear him, and her song also reveals something deeper.

For the Mighty One is Holy, he has done great things for ME.

Did you catch that? A small detail that could so easily be missed. Mary expresses delight in the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people, but she takes it a step further. She claims God’s cosmic promise to his people as a personal promise to her!

When the switch flips and the realization sets in that God’s promises for the world are actually for us, true joy takes root in our hearts. A joy big enough to sweep across human history yet intimate enough to collide with our unique circumstances.

Reflection: Mary risked facing social stigma and public shaming, but these things couldn’t overshadow the joy she had experienced. Is there something painful in my life preventing me from experiencing the joy that is mine in Christ?

Prayer: Lord, help me receive the salvation Jesus offers me as a personal gift, not merely a general one. Fill my heart with the joy of your salvation stronger than any pain I might experience.