joytotheworld

The Advent season marks the beginning of the church year. Advent gives us the opportunity to practice waiting for the light of Christ’s coming into the dark places of our world and our lives. Advent literally means “arrival,” and during this season we remember the coming of Christ from the biblical story but also, we look for his presence in our lives now. The season of Advent guides us into a time of active waiting and heightens our senses as we wait watchfully and patiently for a King who will come and save us. During this season we will look at how Jesus brings Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Each week we will have a candle that we light to mark where we are in the season of advent. 

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In episode 187 last week I talked about the back story behind “Angels We Have Heard on High.” Today I pull the curtain back to look at the history behind another well-known Christmas carol, this one going back to 1719.

It never started out to be a song, but before we get into all this, here’s a word from another Christmas Carol, one of my favorites, my boss, Carol Steward.

Welcome to You Were Made for This

If you find yourself wanting more from your relationships, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll discover practical principles you can use to experience the life-giving relationships you were made for.

I’m your host, John Certalic, award-winning author and relationship coach, here to help you find more joy in the relationships God designed for you. To access all past and future episodes, go to the bottom of this page, enter your name and email address, then click on the follow or subscribe button. The episodes are organized chronologically and are also searchable by topics, categories, and keywords.

Isaac Watts

I’ll start by talking about how “Joy to the World, one of the most famous Christmas Carols of all time,” came to be. It starts with the lyrics written in 1719 by hymn writer Isaac Watts.

While he is appreciated today in church music circles, during his lifetime Watts was considered by many to be a disturbance of the status quo and even possibly a heretic for the lyrics he wrote. While he wasn’t a heretic, he was a revolutionary.

Watts grew up in a world where the music in every worship service consisted only of psalms or sections of Scripture put to music. Watts found the practice monotonous. To him, there was a lack of joy and emotion among the people in the pew as they sang. He described it like this,

“To see the dull indifference, the negligent and thoughtless air that sits upon the faces of a whole assembly, while the psalm is upon their lips, might even tempt a charitable observer to suspect the fervency of their inward religion.”

Yikes, this sounds like me many times.

A Christmas carol from a poem

I was surprised to learn that the lyrics for “Joy to the World” actually came out of a book of poetry Isaac Watts wrote, where each poem was based on a different psalm from the Bible. Rather than just translating the original Old Testament texts word for word, he adapted them to refer more explicitly to the work of Jesus as it had been revealed in the New Testament.

The poetry book was never a best-seller, and the only remnants of it anyone can find is the second part of Psalm 98, which became the basis for “Joy to the World.”
While meditating on Psalm 98, verse 4 gripped Watts:

“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!”

Watts had no intention of creating a hymn when he composed the verse for Psalm 98 as part of his book of poetry. But then in 1836 a man by the name of Lowell Mason composed a riveting melody for Watts’ lyrics, which eventually became quite popular in the church.

The lyrics

Joy to the world, the Lord is come;

Let earth receive her King!


Let every heart prepare him room

And heaven and nature sing! 
And heaven and nature sing . . . and heaven . . . and heaven . . . and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ


While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,


Repeat the sounding joy . .  repeat the sounding joy!


Repeat . . . repeat . . . the sounding joy!

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow


Far as the curse is found . . fFar as the curse is found . . .

Far as . . . far as . . . the curse is found!

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness

And wonders of his love . . . and wonders of his love!

And wonders . . . wonders . . . of his love!

Hope for better days ahead

The intent of Psalm 98 is to bring joy to people. “Joy to the World” inspires us to look forward to the future when sin and sorrow no longer play a part in our lives. Where no thorn infests the ground, and where we are caught up in the grace, glory, and love of God.

So what does “Joy to the World” mean for you today

It’s been 300 years since the carol was written, but it still speaks to us today.

It speaks to creating room in our hearts for Jesus, as the third line of the song declares, “Let every heart prepare him room.” No easy task these days with all the distractions we have keeping us from considering our relationship with God and how we should live in light of that relationship.

The song speaks to the joy that is yours when you consider that God is in control, that he has defeated sin, and is making his blessings flow.

One other thing that “Joy to the World” means is that we can experience joy no matter our circumstances.

Yesterday morning I received a text from a missionary who has been serving in South America for many years. She wrote to tell me she just listened again to episode 155, “How to Find Joy No Matter What,” and that it blessed her again in the midst of the stresses of missionary life and relationships in general.

To listen to it yourself, just go to JohnCertalic.com/155.

Here’s the main takeaway I hope you remember from today’s episode

What better time than this Christmas season to reflect upon how God delivered joy to the world by sending us His son, Jesus. Our relationship with Him is the source of lasting joy worth singing about.

Relationship question of the month

If you have a relationship question you’d like me to answer in an upcoming episode, please go to JohnCertalic.com/question to record your question using your phone or computer.

With your question, please include your name and where you’re from. It’s that simple. If you’d rather submit a written question, just enter it in the Leave a Comment box at the bottom of the show notes.

Closing

In closing, I’d love to hear any thoughts you have about today’s episode. I hope your thinking was stimulated by today’s show to reflect upon the meaning of “Joy to the World.”

For when you do, it will help you experience the joy of relationships God desires for you. Because after all, You Were Made for This.

Well, that’s it for today. If there’s someone in your life you think might like to hear what you just heard, please forward this episode on to them. Scroll down to the bottom of the show notes and click on one of the options in the yellow “Share This” bar.

And don’t forget to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Inject a measure of Christmas joy into the lives of others. And I’ll see you again next time. Goodbye for now.

Other episodes or resources related to today’s show

155: How to Find Joy No Matter What
134: A Better Kind of Christmas Joy
021: The Most Important Relationship of All

https://www.crossway.org/articles/a-brief-history-of-joy-to-the-world/

https://galaxymusicnotes.com/pages/learn-the-story-behind-joy-to-the-world

The Gospdel Coalition. "Joy to the World: A Christmas Hymn Reconsidered"

Last week’s episode

187: This Christmas Carol Invites You

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You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. The generosity of people like you supports our ministry. It enables us to continue this weekly podcast and other services we provide to missionaries around the world.

Joy is at the heart of Christ. And yet, joy is the noun I struggle with most. 

Joy causes a hitch in my throat that says, “But wait; what about all the hurt and sadness and violence?”

Joy feels irrelevant or off-key or out of step in a world where:

• Human trafficking and slavery exist
• Women in the workplace face a wage disparity
• Racism flourishes
• Without provocation, one country attacks another country, and the world condemns with words, sends money, but doesn’t intervene.

Joy feels like stand-up comedy at a funeral. And yet, despite all our hang-ups about joy, joy is inextricably tied to the birth of Jesus Christ.

Key Quotes

• “We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘God cares more about your character than your happiness,’ as if an infinite God doesn’t have the capacity to care about both simultaneously. - Jill E. McCormick
• “Perhaps joy is so hard for us to receive and understand because it is what Jesus wants for us, AND what our enemy works hardest to steal. ” - Jill E. McCormick
• “Joy is defiant resistance.” - Jill E. McCormick
• “Joy is the rebellious act of remembering that God is with us – even here – in the presence of pain and the desperation of suffering.” - Jill E. McCormick
• “Joy is Jesus. And joy has come.” - Jill E. McCormick

As Mentioned in the Podcast

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• #125: Combatting shame with grace with Becky Leach
• #128: The grace of joy with Kimberly Davis
• Detoured by Jen Babakhan
• Mythical Me by Richella Parham
• What’s Here Now? by Jeanne Stevens
• Grace In Real Life book giveaway
• #81: Get Unstuck: Your identity with Jen Babakhan
• #129: God, grace + emotions: Radical grace for your distracted, swirling brain with Jeanne Stevens
• #127: God, grace + emotions: Practical grace when you feel not enough with Richella Parham

Here’s how to connect with Jill

• Website 
• GraceInRealLifePodcast.com 
• Instagram 
• Facebook group 
• Facebook page
• Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email 

What does “Christmas,” the way we think of it… the way we treat it … have to do with its True Meaning? We might be surprised at what we’ve introduced to it… and how MUCH we’ve introduced to it and how little attention we give to what it truly is.

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Oftentimes, the songs of Christmas carry a deeper level in many of their lyrics.  In this episode, Mandy walks us through a few familiar Christmas songs to show us a tiny bit of that meaning as well as inform us of the oral traditions about the nativity that were alive and well when the songs were composed.  
Reflecting Light and Mandy would like to wish you EACH a very Mary/Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season!

Learn how to get more out of Christmas through the gift of anticipation. As we appreciate what God has already done for us, we can trust him for our future. We can anticipate the good things he was in store for us, like a child waiting to open their presents on Christmas.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 82. Today is the third of our December series on Relationships at Christmas.

We’re coming off the 3rd Sunday of Advent, which occurred just a few days ago. This 3rd Sunday traditionally focuses on Joy. The joy of Christmas. Did you know that you can experience the joy of every Christmas 3 times?

You really can! Hang around and listen, as I explain.

The three joys of Christmas

The first joy found in each Christmas is anticipating it, looking forward to Christmas and imagining what it will be like. Then there’s the joy of Christmas Day; and all that happens during those 24 hours. That’s the 2nd joy. Lastly, there’s the joy of remembering afterward what happened on Christmas. It’s reflecting on the events of our Christmas and how what happened touched us in some way. For Today, We’ll Focus on Just the First Joy of Christmas, the Christmas Gift of Anticipation

The first joy: Anticipation of Christmas

• It starts with Mary, the mother of Jesus that we read about in the Gospel of Luke in the Bible. We talked a bit about Mary in last week’s episode, #80, but to review she was a teenager from the little village of Nazareth. One day the Angel Gabriel, a messenger from God, visits Mary.
• He then tells Mary 3 things that will happen to her in the next few months. She will:  1) conceive a child even though she’s a virgin, 2) give birth to a son, 3)name him Jesus (Luke 1:31)
• After this, Gabriel tells Mary 5 things about her yet-to-be-born son, Jesus, and the impact he will have on the world (Luke 1:32)

He will very great
He will be called the Son of the Most High
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David
He will reign over Israel, and finally
His kingdom will never end

Mary hurries off to share the good news

• Soon after Mary gets this news from God, she hurries off to her elderly relative, Elizabeth.
• Shortly after her arrival at Elizabeth’s house, Mary shares her joy with Elizabeth what God told her through Gabriel. You can feel the joy in her words as she anticipates what God is going to do through her son, who is actually His son!
• Mary praises God for this incredible earth-shattering historic event that is about to happen, and how God chose to get the ball rolling by using her, a nondescript teenage girl of humble origins from the podunk little village of Nazareth.
• What a wonderful Christmas gift of anticipation Mary received from God!
• Mary anticipates her soon-to-be-elevated status, not because of anything she did, but only because of what God chooses to do with this humble teenage girl. She is in awe of being the recipient of such a great blessing.
• This is a beautiful and encouraging relationship story between lowly Mary and the God of the universe. If God will bless someone like Mary, maybe he will bless me too
• Mary’s Christmas gift of anticipation is based on the character of God and what he did for many generations before hers

Read Luke 1: 46-56, The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise.

She praises God in response to Elizabeth who tells her will be called “blessed”

1. Shows mercy from generation to all who fear him
2. Has done tremendous things, like scattering the proud and haughty
3. Brought princes down from their thrones
4. Exalted the humble
5. Filled the hungry with good things
6. Sent the rich away with empty hands
7. Helped his servant Israel
8. Has remembered to be merciful
9. Made promises to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever

Because Mary calls to mind what God has done in the past for her ancestors, she can trust God and anticipate more of his goodness in moving forward in her life, and in the life of her people.

And what joy there is in this Christmas gift of anticipation of what Jesus is going to do next. Mary set the stage for the rest of us in showing that the real joy of Christmas is found in a relationship with Jesus.

What about you? Where are you finding joy this Christmas? Is there anything you can remember that God has done for you in the past, that makes it easier for you to anticipate the good things he will do in the future?

If you forget everything else, here’s the one thing I hope you remember from today’s episode.

To best experience the Christmas gift of anticipation of what is to come. we need to reflect on what has already come. What God has already done in our lives that speak to his character and gives us confidence to trust him in what is yet to come.

Here’s what we can all do in response to today’s program

What can you anticipate about your relationship with Jesus, based on what he is doing now in your life, and what he did in the past?

If you can’t point to many things Jesus has done for you, it’s only because you don’t know him well enough…yet. It’s never too late to start getting to know him. Why not start today?

Do what Mary did in Luke 1:38, she just believed. Not in an “I hope so manner”. but rather in affirmation of what God was telling her through the angel Gabriel. Elizabeth tells Mary You are to be called blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said. (Luke 1:45)

As always, another thing you could do is let me and your fellow listeners know what resonated with you about today’s episode. The easiest way is to put your thoughts in an email and send them to me, john@caringforothers.org. Or you can share your thoughts in the “Leave a Reply” box at the bottom of the show notes.

Closing

In closing I hope you will savor the joy found in experiencing Christmas in 3 ways this year, starting with the Christmas Gift of Anticipation of what is to come. And just like Mary, I hope your Christmas joy is based on your relationship with Jesus. Because after all, You Were Made for This.

If finding more joy during the Christmas season interests you, you might want to listen to episode 46 from last year, Where Joy to the World is Found.

Our relationship quote of the week

If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

That’s all for today. See you next week. Goodbye for now.

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