Nineteenth Day of Advent
O God Who Comes,
Even as we praise you and thank you for the gift of joy, we ask you to help us not to confuse joy with emotions that, while good in themselves, are less than joy. Help us not to confuse joy with happiness, which is dependent on our circumstances and is thus here today and gone tomorrow. Help us not to confuse joy with contentment, which while pleasant can lead to inaction.
Help us to realize that in fact the joy with which you bless us is not an emotion at all; it is not something that we feel now and not then but rather is a state of being in which we live all the time because we live in relationship with you all the time.
Bless us with the joy that comes from knowing that we are safe in your arms, that you will never forsake us, that we are sharing in your purposes, and that, no matter what we are going through, you and we go through it together.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Amen.
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