The Advent of Christ - The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

As a little girl, I was known to stop at any random time, on any given day, and exclaim, “This is the best day EVER!” Most of the time this exclamation was born truly out of nowhere; just the pure and unadulterated joy of a child. I was able to see such beauty and goodness, even on the most ordinary day. It was the kind of joy that wasn’t affected by what was going on in the world around me. Of course, I grew up, life happened, hard things came my way, I became more aware of the state of our fallen world, and that joy felt a little harder to come by.

As human beings we tend to view joy as circumstantial; a fleeting feeling we experience when things are going well. Someone might look at you and say, “You look so happy!” But that happiness hinges on what is going on in our life. It might change at any moment. It isn’t joy. Joy is an enduring, intrinsic, lasting state of being. It comes from a source that cannot be shaken, no matter what happens. It is something that this world cannot give us, nor can it take it away from us.

In the Psalms, David wrote, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” And there it is: the secret to a joy-filled life. Live in the presence of our Creator. He longs to pour joy out upon us, He asks only that we rest in Him and choose a life of following Him. Life with the Lord makes everyday “the best day ever”.