Listening for the Promise
Sola Publishing – Weekly Devotions 
Third Sunday of Advent  – December 15, 2024
SOWeR Site — Weekly Devotional © Sola Publishing: www.solapublishing.com, 2024, written by Peggy Hoppes. Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
(permission granted to active subscribers to reproduce this sheet for local congregational use)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” 
- Philippians 4:4 -
True Joy and Peace
The Christmas season is supposed to be a happy time, but the hustle and bustle makes it stressful. Demands from co-workers and family give us little room to rest. Exhaustion leads to illness, which makes everything harder. There is not enough time to do everything, not enough energy to accomplish all the tasks, and not enough laughter to get us through. It is made especially difficult when faced with people who expect that smile on your face at every moment. “What is the matter with you, it’s Christmas!”
We can’t be happy all the time, though it sounds like this is what Paul expects; we are to rejoice in the Lord always. In everything we do, in everything we are, we are to live in the joy that is found in our relationship with God. We are to trust that God is greater than our exhaustion and busy-ness. During Christmas we recognize the coming of God in flesh, we honor and remember the child in the manger. However, we aren’t waiting just for Christ the King to come again. He is here now, dwelling amongst us, walking with us, guiding us, loving us with a tender and compassionate love. We can rejoice in the Lord always because He is always with us. In good times and bad, we can trust God because He is always faithful to His promises.
The joy and peace of Christmas is not what most people are seeking at this time of year. As a matter of fact, it is the very seeking of external joy and peace that makes us even more stressed. As we chase after laughs and good feelings, we lose sight of the real source of our joy and peace. We are to keep our eyes, and our hearts, on true joy. When peace dwells in our hearts, we have a whole new perspective about the world around us. Instead of being stressed by too much, we remember the one thing that truly brings joy: Jesus.