The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

Devotion based on Zephaniah 3:17

Are you happy right now? If it’s a quiet time of day and you are sitting down reading or listening to this devotion, perhaps it is a happier moment of the day. Or it’s possible that you’re stressed because of a load of work or sad because something disappointing has just happened, and you found this devotion looking for relief. Are you happy right now?

Here’s another question: Are you joyful? That’s a much different question. We might use the words “joy” and “happy” interchangeably, but there’s a difference. Happiness has to do with what’s happening in my life right now. When I asked if you were happy, you had to evaluate your present situation or circumstance—what’s happening right now.

Joy doesn’t come from what’s happening in life right now. No, it comes from what has already happened, and that won’t ever change. What happened is the Lord himself came to save you and me from sin when he died on the cross. What happened is he rose from the dead to conquer death. And I was connected to his cross and empty tomb; it happened when I was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

It’s okay if you’re not happy right now. It’s okay if this Christmas season stirs up a variety of complicated emotions. You can still have joy because real joy comes from above, from God! This verse from Zephaniah lifts our eyes from what’s happening here and now and points us to the Mighty God who came to save us. He is with you and rejoices over you with singing because it brought him so much joy to save you. Happiness is a changing emotion based on what’s happening right here, right now. Joy is a gift that comes from your gracious God and Savior. Jesus came from heaven above to earth below to give you the joy of knowing you are loved by God now and forever.

Prayer: