Joy is...

I don’t know if you can relate to this, but around the third week of December, things start to get a little crazy. Whether it’s preparation for another gathering, the realization that I need to get started on my grandiose plans for homemade gifts, or nailing down the details of Christmas Day with extended family, there’s no denying—the frenzy is in full swing. Joy, the third theme of Advent, comes in a timely manner during a season of palpable celebration.

Joy is different from happiness because it can be cultivated even in unhappiness. Especially at church, we tend to harp on this distinction. In fact, sometimes it’s all we talk about. However, if joy isn’t happiness, what is it?

So, what is Advent Joy?

Dr. Pamela King is a researcher who’s taken an interest in understanding the (often complex) quality we know as joy. In an interview with Dr. Jamie Aten of Psychology Today, she observed that, “...joy is most fully understood as a virtue that involves our thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to what matters most in our lives. Thus, joy is an enduring, deep delight in what holds the most significance.”?

It’s easy to oversimplify the distinction between joy and happiness, quickly jumping to joy’s correlated action, rejoicing—which can always be practiced (1 Thessalonians 5:16). If we're going to rejoice fully this Advent season, we must understand what joy is before quickly jumping to what it is not.?

As a whole, the Amenable team isn’t made up of joy researchers, theologians, or seasoned church leaders. We’re not here to tell you what you should do with Advent Joy, but we do hope to cast vision for how your church could think well about joy.?

Perhaps, understanding that joy is deeply connected with what matters most in our lives gives us a starting point to talk about joy. It also may help us uncover how to best hold space for joy’s counterpart, sorrow, even through rejoicing.?

Equipped with Scripture’s view of joy—Fruit of the Spirit to cultivate (Gal 5:22), a gift received from God (John 16:24), and an outlook that can persist despite trials (James 1:2)—we hope you and your church can not only know what joy is not, but, together, explore more fully what it is as we rejoice this Advent season.?

-Amelia

Some of my favorite resources—the joy edition:?

• Liturgy for Embracing Both Joy & Sorrow by Douglas McKelvey. Simply put, this prayer has guided me to hold both joy and sorrow rightly. I hope it does the same for you.?
• Lord, Remind Me by Jon Guerra. I stumbled upon this song a few years ago and find my way back every December. It’s a Christmas song that somehow acknowledges deep sorrow without conceding joy—all with beautiful instrumentation.
• The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent by John Piper. This 25-day devotional (recommended by Anna Montgomery ) aims to strengthen the joy of Christmas throughout the entire season of Advent.?