The Third Sunday of Advent focuses on one of the most powerful yet misunderstood gifts of the Christian faith: joy. Not the fleeting happiness that depends on circumstances, but the deep, sustaining joy that can exist even in the darkest valleys of life. This joy was first announced by angels to shepherds in fields outside Bethlehem: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

But what makes this joy so great? And how can we experience it in a world saturated with pain and difficulty?

Permission to Be Happy

Let’s start with a question that might surprise you: Does God care about your happiness, or is He only concerned with your spiritual joy?

The answer is both. God is a good, loving, and kind Father. What good father wouldn’t want his children to be happy? While a wise parent knows that a child’s momentary happiness isn’t always the priority, any loving father delights in bringing smiles and laughter to his children. Your heavenly Father is no different.

It’s time to abandon the miserable Christian thinking that suggests God doesn’t want you to be happy. Scripture itself celebrates this truth: “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15). The writer of Proverbs declares, “Whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he” (Proverbs 16:20).

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones observed in 1964 that “the greatest need of the hour is a revived and joyful Church. Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation for the Christian Faith.” One of the most common criticisms from non-believers is that Christians seem miserable—the exact opposite of how we should appear!

Theologian Robert Hotchkins wrote: “Christians ought to be celebrating constantly. We ought to be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts, and merriment… We ought to attract people to the church quite literally by the sheer pleasure there is in being a Christian.”

What if Christians were known as the people who celebrate more than the world, rather than less? What if the Church demonstrated what it looks like to cheerfully love God and our neighbors? Perhaps fewer people would fall for the enemy’s deadly lie—that they must find happiness somewhere other than in Jesus.

Joy: The Fruit of Abiding

The “great joy” announced by the angels wasn’t just excitement about a baby. It was the announcement that the Source of all joy had come to dwell with us. This is why biblical joy differs fundamentally from happiness. Happiness is a reaction to happenings; joy is a product of presence.

Paul identifies joy as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Notice the word “fruit,” not “work.” You cannot manufacture fruit. A branch doesn’t strain and grunt to squeeze out a grape. Fruit is the natural, inevitable byproduct of a branch being connected to a healthy vine.

Jesus teaches this principle explicitly in John 15. He says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). Then He immediately connects this abiding to joy: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

The secret is simple yet profound: We don’t produce joy; we receive it. Biblical joy is not something we conjure up with positive thinking. It is the spiritual sap flowing from Christ, the True Vine, into us, the branches. When we abide—when we stay relationally connected to Jesus through prayer, His Word, and obedience—His life flows through us, and the natural fruit of His life is joy.

As surely as a healthy vine produces grapes, a life abiding in Christ produces joy. Peter captures this beautifully: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8).

Abiding Joy: Our Strength in Suffering

If joy were merely a feeling based on circumstances, it would evaporate the moment life gets hard. But if joy is the spiritual sap flowing from Jesus, then it must be able to sustain us even in the valley.

Christians face trials, hardships, and deep pain. How can joy possibly exist here? It exists because abiding doesn’t stop when suffering starts. Scripture calls us to a startling paradox: to rejoice in our suffering (Romans 5:3). This doesn’t mean pretending the pain isn’t real or enjoying suffering. It means our connection to the Vine is deeper and stronger than our circumstances.

When a branch experiences pressure from wind or heat, it doesn’t detach from the vine; it clings tighter. Suffering is not a signal to pull away from Jesus, but an invitation to abide more deeply in Him.

Abiding gives us three profound certainties that fuel our joy even in darkness:

God is WITH us (His Presence). Isaiah 43:2 promises: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” You will not go through suffering alone. Jesus, the Vine, is in the storm with the branch. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

God is WORKING in us (His Purpose). Abiding helps us see that our trials are not random. Jesus prunes every fruitful branch so it may bear more fruit (John 15:2). He works all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). We can have joy because we trust the Vinedresser’s hand.

God will HELP us (His Power). Jesus invites us to draw on His resources through prayer: “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24). Our capacity to endure is not based on our grit, but on His grace flowing through the connection of abiding.

Choosing Joy: The Practice of Rejoicing

If joy is the fruit of the Spirit, how do we access it when buried in discouragement? We must choose joy through the action of rejoicing. The word “rejoice” begins with “re-,” meaning once more, or a return to. To rejoice is to return to the source of our joy: Jesus.

Paul commands us: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wisely observed: “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?”

The Psalms model this practice beautifully. David asks himself, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5). We refuel our joy tank by returning to the certainty of His love and our salvation.

Even Jesus practiced this discipline. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that “for the joy set before him he endured the cross.” He fixed His eyes on the joy that awaited—and so must we.

Living Joyfully as Our Greatest Witness

Jesus wants your joy to be abundant—great joy, glorious joy! His intention is not that you just get enough joy, but that your joy would be so prolific that it spills out and is given away.

When we live joyfully in a joyless world, it becomes our greatest witness. When others see us sustained in the midst of suffering, they will wonder what sustains us. Our consistent, unshakable joy is a living invitation that points others to the Father.

This Advent season, let’s choose to rejoice despite the pain and challenges we face. Let’s heed the good news of the angels that brings great joy to all: A Savior has been born, our Messiah, the Lord, and He will carry us through and complete His work in us no matter what.

The shepherds ran with joy to see the newborn King. May we run with that same joy—connected to the Vine, abiding in His presence, and sharing the great joy that is meant for all people.