“Regifting the Spirit of Christmas - JOY”
Leading up to the Christmas Holidays, Monday Meditations will be exploring the Season of Advent and how we can use the act of “REGIFTING” to help us reflect and engage with the Spirit of Christmas.
Can you feel it yet? Do you have JOY? There’s only a week left before the main event!
Working in the news media business traditionally brought an incredibly frantic pace at this time of year as advertisers ramped up their campaigns for the holidays. We would shift into “all-wheel drive” to handle all the blizzard-like business that came our way as local and national retailers made last-minute attempts to reach their sales goals before the end of the year. Sometimes we would work late December 24th to make sure customers’ ads were finalized for the Boxing Day edition. From a financial perspective, we typically would do 30% to 40% of our annual revenue during the six weeks before Christmas. The first few times I experienced the Christmas chaos were exciting and intoxicating. Then, as the years went on, it became daunting and exhausting. Each year, as Christmas approached, you could sense the “little drummer boy” symbolically beating the drum just a bit louder with more intensity every week forcing us to “keep step” and stay busy!
Admittedly, working in this environment year after year has caused me to experience a bit of Yuletide-PTSD. This Christmas (2021) will be my second working away from the industry, however, the sights and sounds of the season still bring up feelings of anxiousness and urgency that are buried deep in a snowbank within my soul.
Maybe you are feeling similar about your business. Whether your company hangs Christmas lights on houses or is a contracted service, such as accounting or financial investing, etc., you likely can relate to my experience to some degree. The combination of the end of the calendar (taxation) year, gift-getting and delivering to clients, attending parties and events, along with the pressure-filled end of year job responsibilities requires a personal commitment and pace that is unlike any other time of year.
Q: Despite the “busyness” of the season, is it possible to still experience JOY?
Assuming you and I could break away for a couple of moments to enjoy a festive coffee drink at a local coffee shop, I might ask you the question, “What brings you joy?”
If we were to unpack the question, we might discover that JOY is something that CAN’T be brought to us, and it is different from happiness. Happiness is an emotion. JOY is a decision, a condition of the heart, soul, and mind. JOY comes from a place within us while feeling happy usually is a response to something that happens outside of us.
We continue our coffee conversation and I ask you this question…
Q: Can you have joy even in times of trouble?
In the past couple of weeks, we have covered the ADVENT topics of HOPE and PEACE. I like the order of these words during this season and would suggest that the combination of each of the previous words helps to establish JOY in each of us.
The formula looks like this: JOY = HOPE + PEACE
Zephaniah 3:14-20 gives us a great example of how this formula works. Take a moment right now and read this passage.
Did you see the formula at work?
Verse 14 tells us to “be glad and re-JOY-ce (my spelling) with all your heart.”
Verses 15 and 16 shows us that God has brought PEACE to his people.
Verse 17 to 20 explains the brighter future, or HOPE, that God will bring to his children.
Does this mean that when we decide to live a life of JOY, we will never encounter struggle again? Not at all. In fact, James 1:2-4 says we should choose to be JOYful in times of trouble:
“Consider it pure JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
The last concept I would like to present is that JOY is a result of our proximity to Christ. When he is near, JOY is the result. He removes anxiety when we present our requests to him. We cannot understand the JOY He brings in times of trouble, but it’s there, nonetheless!
Consider this passage in Philippians 4:4-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart
Prepare him room.
And heaven and nature sing!”
Nearly every Christmas concert and children’s pageant ends with singing this song. The celebration tune, tempo and words all combine to create a sense of joy within our spirit as we participate in the season. The words remind us that Christ came near to save his people and the whole world can now experience true JOY!
Q: In what ways will you regift the JOY of Christ to others this week?
Just like the very first Christmas, let the symbolic coming of Christ bring JOY to you and yours this season!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your message of JOY to me today. Just like the very first Christmas, I pray that I would experience and choose JOY that emanates from within me and spills over to others this season. I praise you for your goodness to me as you bring PEACE and HOPE. Thank you for this! Praise your holy name. Amen.
Blessings always and all-ways,
Steve Shrout
President
Special Note:
If you enjoyed today’s message, then share it with someone. Also, use this content and questions as a discussion guide in your next Forum Group meeting.
Attached to this email is a printable PDF you can use to help with your meditation and reflection. I encourage you to print it, answer the questions and then keep it in a Corpath binder or folder for future reference and thought. You will receive a new PDF each week with each new Monday Meditation, and, over time, your binder will become a book representing your Corpath journey of BUSINESS thoughts, personal LIFE development and SPIRITUAL growth.
