Joy is a Gift

There’s a phrase in Isaiah 35 that sticks out to me. Isaiah says, “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing;” (and here’s the phrase) “everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.”

The question I have been asking is, What does it mean for everlasting joy to be upon our heads? 

When I went rooting around in the stories of Scripture, two images emerged. 

The first is of a pitcher full of joy being poured out. So much joy is poured into our lives that it fills us up to overflowing. We are filled from the bottom of our feet to the top of our heads. It’s not something we can contain. It overflows us. Joy is upon our heads.

The other image is of a crown placed upon our heads - a glorious crown of joy - not power or might - but joy.  

What both of these images help me see is that joy is a gift. We think of joy as something we have to muster. In the Scriptures, however, joy is a gift. It is given to us - poured into our very beings. It is placed on our heads like a crown. 

We consume a lot of things, buy a lot of things, do a lot of things, earn a lot of things, achieve a lot of things – hoping to be something more than happy for moment. I am becoming less and less convinced that joy is something we can make happen for ourselves.  

It’s prophets like Isaiah that help me see it for what it is. 

Joy is a gift of God-with-us. 

If anything this takes the pressure off. There’s so much pressure to manufacture something meaningful - especially during this time of year. The only thing really required of us here in this third week of Advent is an open heart - to receive the gift that transforms all other gifts -the gift of God-with-us.