Advent reminds us that our hope is sure. We have peace with God, and his Messiah is coming to put everything right. We can choose to respond with joy. This week, in Battle Drill devotionals, we look at ways in which we can respond to God’s love and goodness.
Read Psalm 126:1-6. Do you find choosing joy challenging work? It’s not always easy to be kind to people. It’s not always easy to be generous when time and money are short. It’s sometimes hard to find hope when everything seems so hopeless.
Sometimes, our circumstances make us want to weep rather than choose joy. Biblical writers, like the Psalmist, never gloss over evil and suffering. They don’t encourage us to simply “don’t worry, be happy”. Instead, they promise that God will give us real joy even amid our dark realities and conditions:
Psalm 126:5–6 NLT
Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
If we choose to spread joy, even when we don’t feel like it, God’s promise is that we will harvest with shouts of joy. Sometimes, we are called to sacrifice. That could be our money, our time, our talents, even our whole lives. Sometimes, it’s our feelings. But when we make the sacrifice God asks from us – whatever it is – he will bless us beyond measure.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
• What does it look like to live by faith and choose to spread joy, even in difficult circumstances?
