Advent, Week 3 • December 13th, 2020
Joy is a pervasive and constant sense of well-being.
Therefore when the Psalmist, in Psalm 126, exclaims, “we are glad” they’re inviting any and all to defiantly anchor ourselves in God and his restoring story; to return to joy.
Bono calls this return to joy an “act of defiance” and I think that is such an apt descriptor of joy. At a social level, joy defies the skepticism, cynicism, and even the fatalism of our day. At a spiritual level, joy defies the world (the operating powers and principalities opposed to the rule and reign of God). Joy defies our flesh (our internal resistance to God); and joy defies the devil itself dismantling its accusations. Lest we think joy is easy, hear Henri Nouwen’s words here:
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us.” - Henri Nouwen
...
Join us live 10am on Sundays at dsm.online.church where a pop-up group zoom will be linked after the video. Please join us for a time of prayer and discussion.
Give online at www.thegatewaychurch.com/give or text any amount to 84321
