HOPE, PEACE AND JOY

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During this Christmas season some of the words that commonly come to mind are … hope, peace and joy. Why do we think of those words when there seems to be stress and busyness connected to this time of the year? Could it be that this is what we long to experience in the midst of all that the world demands of us?


In the biblical story of the wisemen that traveled to see Jesus soon after his birth it says that the wisemen felt joy when they saw the star where Jesus was. (Matthew 2:9-10) Where did the joy come from?

It came from being in the presence of Jesus. 


Here’s the deal… the wisemen had to travel hundreds of miles to get to Jesus. They determined to follow the star that God had shown them because they knew that in the end they would see the King, the Messiah. They wanted to see Jesus! 


How do we experience the hope, joy and peace that we long for during this Christmas season? Or any other season for that matter? 

We make the choice to pursue it. 

We look for it. 

We go after it. 

We do it with intentionality and determination. 


This means that we need to… 

… Worship Him through Christian or worship music.

… Spend time with Him by going on a walk with him or sitting with him; whatever that looks like for you.

… Listen to his voice. Take time to be quiet so his voice is clearer.

… Read the Bible, the written word of God.

… Even listen to a Christian podcast.


We like to make the excuses of “I’m too busy”, “I don’t have time”, “I don’t know how to do this”, “I don’t have a special place to do any of this”. We can do this in our living room, bedroom, in our car, in our bathroom, at work, anywhere. 


God isn’t partial to where or how we pursue him. 

He just wants us to do it.


How bad do you and I want the hope, joy and peace that we are looking for? 

Would we be willing to travel hundreds of miles, on foot, to find the source of this hope, joy and peace? 

Are we willing to sacrifice time, energy and money to go after it? 

What does the pursuit of Jesus look like for each of us?


Too many times we sit back and expect Jesus to come to us when in reality we need to pursue him. Just like any other relationship, it’s a two-way street. It takes two to tango, as they say. This relationship is no different. 


Let’s pursue the source of the hope, joy and peace that we all want and need! 

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