Rusty George: That's what we all sound like at Christmas, isn't it?
Oh, how wonderful to see you.
And yet you haven't called in six months.
The kids are doing great.
One's failing math.
The other won't talk to us.
Work's been amazing.
I cried in my car on Tuesday.
We perform joy.
We don't experience it because here's the truth, a lot of us have forgotten
what real joy even feels like.
We've confused joy with happiness.
We've buried joy under expectations, disappointments, and the exhausting
pressure to keep it all together.
But what if I told you that joy isn't something you perform, it's
something you rediscover, and it's been waiting for you all along.
Let me ask you something.
When's the last time you felt truly joyful, not happy, not
entertained, not distracted, but joyful because there's a difference.
Happiness depends on happenings, circumstances going your
way, joy, it's deeper.
It's a settled confidence that transcends circumstances, but
somewhere along the way, we lost it.
Let me give you the four biggest joy thieves.
Number one comparison.
Social media has turned us all into professional comparers.
Everyone's vacation looks better.
Everyone's kids seems smarter, everyone's marriage looks happier.
Theodore Roosevelt said, comparison is the thief of joy.
And that was before social media.
And he was right.
He didn't even have Instagram or X or Snapchat or whatever
he was even before MySpace.
We're constantly measuring ourselves against other people's highlight
reels and wondering why our behind the scenes just doesn't measure up.
Here's the second one, expectations.
We thought this job would fulfill us.
This relationship would complete us.
This house would satisfy us.
These kids would appreciate us, and when reality doesn't match
expectations, disappointment kills joy.
I thought when our church hit a certain size, I'd feel successful.
Then we hit that number, and guess what?
I felt the pressure to hit the next one.
Expectations are Joys, assassin.
Here's the third, joy Steeler.
We're so busy doing life that we forget to enjoy life, and so busyness takes over.
Someone once asked me, rusty, what are you rushing towards?
I didn't have an answer.
I was just rushing.
Busyness is that thing that we often say to each other.
It makes us feel good about ourselves.
How you doing?
Busy.
We've traded joy for efficiency, and we're efficient, but we're miserable.
Here's the fourth one.
Guilt.
I should be grateful other people have it worse.
What right do I have to complain?
So we suppress our struggles, fake a smile, and bury our joy under guilt.
But here's what's wild.
The Bible talks about joy over 150 times.
Clearly, God thinks it's important, and the angels didn't show up to
the shepherds and say, I bring you mediocre news of mild contentment.
They said, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the world.
So where do we find it?
Where's the joy?
Let me take you to the most joyful book in the Bible.
Philippians.
Paul writes this letter while he's in prison, chains on
his wrist, uncertain future.
Yet Philippians mentions joy or rejoice 16 times in four chapters.
How?
Because Paul discovered the secret joy isn't found in circumstances.
Joy is found in Christ.
Philippians four, four, he writes, rejoice in the Lord always.
I'll say it again.
Rejoice.
Not rejoice when things go well.
Not rejoice if you feel like it, but rejoice always because joy in the Lord
isn't about what's happening to you.
It's about what's happening in you.
This week of advent, we light the joy candle, often called the shepherds candle.
Why shepherds?
Because when the angels appeared to the shepherds in Luke two, they were the last
people you'd expect to receive good news.
Shepherds were outcast, richly, unclean, poor, forgotten, and yet God chose
them to receive the announcement of the greatest joy the world has ever known.
The message joy isn't reserved for people who have it all together.
Joy is for the broken, the forgotten the outsiders.
Joy is for you.
In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah writes in chapter eight, verse 10,
the joy of the Lord is your strength.
It's interesting, isn't it?
Not your joy, but his joy.
When you're too tired, too discouraged, too broken to muster joy
on your own, you tap into his joy.
His joy is like an underground spring.
It doesn't run dry.
It doesn't depend on circumstances.
It flows from his presence.
And when you're connected to him, his joy becomes your strength.
So how do we rediscover joy?
Let me give you three practical, simple steps we like simple on this podcast.
So here we go.
Number one, practice gratitude.
Science backs this up.
Studies show that people who regularly practice gratitude, experience better
mental health, stronger relationships, more optimism, and yes, more joy.
This week, every day write down three things you are grateful for.
Not huge things, small things, hot coffee, a text from a friend, your
kid laughing at your dumb joke.
Write it down.
First Thessalonians chapter five, verses 16 through 18 says, rejoice
always pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.
Gratitude shifts your focus from what's missing to what's present.
Here's the second thing.
Celebrate small wins.
We're so focused on the destination that we forget to celebrate the journey.
Did your kid clean their room without being asked?
Celebrate, did you resist the urge to scroll through social media for one day?
Celebrate?
Did you make it through a tough week?
Celebrate.
Stop waiting for the big moment to celebrate.
Celebrate the small wins.
Joy lives in the small moments.
Here's the third thing.
Choose joy.
Yes, it is a choice.
Paul said, I have learned to be content.
Whatever the circumstances I have learned, it didn't come naturally.
He had to choose it.
Joy isn't a feeling.
It's not something you wait for.
It's a decision you make.
Years ago when our church faced financial hardship, I was
stressed, anxious, barely sleeping.
One morning Lori looked at me and said, rusty, you get to choose.
You can let this steal your joy or you can trust God and choose joy.
Anyway, I wish I could say I immediately chose joy.
I I didn't.
It was a bit of a tug of war for a while.
I sulked for another week, but eventually I made the choice, and you know what?
The circumstances didn't change right away, but I changed.
Joy isn't about circumstances.
It's about perspective.
Hebrews 12, two says that Jesus, for the joy set before him endured the cross.
Think about that.
Jesus endured the worst suffering imaginable for joy, not despite
suffering for joy, because he knew what was on the other side, resurrection,
redemption, and reunion with us.
And that same joy is available to you, not because your life is perfect, not because
everything's figured out, but because Jesus has come and his joy is unshakeable.
This week as you light , the joy candle.
Remember, joy isn't something you find.
Joy is something you choose because you are connected to the source
of all joy and no matter what you're facing, the joy of the Lord.
Is your strength.
Next week we're gonna talk about how love came down.
Until then, keep it simple.