Luke 1:14  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of His birth.

There are many individuals who could feel justified in experiencing feelings of JOYLESSNESS during the season of the year that is SUPPOSED to be filled with great JOY.

I am certain that the parents who lost young children one year ago in the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting could definitely state that their joy has been robbed from them. Likewise, those who are ill could also declare that there is little room for joy in their lives. 

Sadly, we can all identify times that our joy was shattered.  On a personal level, my brother was killed in a car accident on Christmas Day in 1985, and my best friend's funeral was on Christmas Eve last year.  Events such as these definitely have the potential to eliminate our joy at this time of the year.  However, today's scripture states that Jesus' birth WILL be a source of joy and delight for us all.

It is important to note that this scripture does not proclaim that Jesus' birth MAY be a source of joy. Jesus was born to bring us JOY ... to give us the GIFT of salvation.

2 Corinthians 4:17 assures us that "....our present trouble, which is only for a short time, is working out for us a much greater weight of glory".  Thankfully, this much greater weight of glory is spending ALL of eternity with Jesus. Life on this Earth was designed to be

TEMPORARY.....whereas life with God was created to be ETERNAL. 

We have all been placed in situations in our lives where we have had to complete a difficult task. If we would have been informed that we only had to do this unfavorable task for a short period of time, it would have been much easier to accomplish. The same thought applies to the trials that we experience on Earth. They, too, must be endured for a short duration of time, and THEN we can enjoy the rewards of the JOY of our existence in Heaven for ETERNITY with our Savior, our God. 

My challenge to you during this Christmas season is to tap into the power of the JOY of Christmas ... the gift made possible to you, to me through the birth of Jesus. I encourage you to look past your present circumstances and to grab hold to His JOY ... allow His JOY to take

your eyes off of what you are facing now in order to see what He has in store for you - eternal life with Him.

Dear Lord, You tell me in Nehemiah 8:10 that the joy of the Lord is my strength. I thank You for being the SOURCE OF MY JOY ... MY STRENGTH.

I also thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.