Today’s 333 Devotional: “Mega Joy Ahead”

The birth of Christ brings great joy.

The angels said to the shepherds, “I bring you good tidings of great joy.” (Luke 2:10)

Jesus was called the man of sorrow for the purpose of giving to us joy.

“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief… Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows … But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5)

And for those who put their trust in Christ this is God’s promise for the future.

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Now, the word ‘great’ is the Greek word ‘megas.’ It’s where we get our English word mega. I like that. The good news the angels proclaimed was not just the good news of joy. It was the good news of MEGA joy; mega joy for all people, mega joy for me, and mega joy for you.

We sing, “Joy to the world the Lord is come,” “repeat the sounding joy,” and “Tis the season to be jolly.” But joy, real joy, great joy, seems to elude so many. But that’s not news. We’ve all heard the statistics, maybe we’ve been part of them a time or two, of how the Christmas season is a time a great depression, and the statistics show the suicide rate going up this time of year.

But with the coming of Jesus there is great joy, not because our troubles will disappear, but rather because our sins that separate us from God have been dealt with.

Look at what Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)