Mensa Otabil - Exceedingly Great Joy
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Today is Christmas Eve, and Christmas Eve is very special for all of us. For those of us in Ghana, it’s a very special celebration, especially the night of the 24th of December. For most people in other parts of the world, Christmas Eve is also very special, and we trust that as we celebrate this day and enjoy all the fun that comes with it, we still keep our minds centered on Christ Jesus, the real reason for the season.
So we go back to the scriptures, to Matthew chapter 2, verse 10: «And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.» This is in reference to the wise men. They had been to the palace of King Herod to inquire about the King who had been born. Reference has been made from the scriptures that the birth is taking place in Bethlehem Ephrata.
So they leave the palace of Herod. After they leave the palace, the star that has been guiding them for two years appears. That’s the strange thing about this star: it can disappear and appear. We get the impression that while they were in the palace of King Herod, they couldn’t see the star; probably, they stepped out, and they couldn’t see it. They might have thought that the star was gone forever. But then they step out on their journey, and the star shows up and guides them. The passage says that they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. This means they were beside themselves with joy. Something might have happened to dampen their spirits; they thought God had left them, and they had lost direction. Then they found their way, and they were so full of joy.
May the Lord bring the same joy to all of us as we contemplate Jesus Christ at this time. We can think of the joy of the wise men in three ways. The first is the joy of finding Christ. The joy of finding Christ. Anyone who has given their life to Jesus Christ has experienced this joy. When you pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart, there’s so much joy and peace in your heart. This is how someone described how he felt the day he gave his life to Christ: he said, «I felt like singing; the sky was bluer, the grass was greener,» basically saying everything looked clear and clean. It looked like God had wiped away the slate, cleaned all the debris, and made things new. It is the joy of finding Christ that is the joy that the wise men felt- the joy of rediscovering their way to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then there is the joy of following the Lord. When we follow Christ, as the wise men were following the star, there is great joy in knowing that your life is purposeful. Your life is heading somewhere; your life is in the service of the Lord. There is an old chorus we used to sing: «It is a great thing to serve the Lord.» The joy of serving the Lord completes our lives, makes our lives full, and makes our lives purposeful. It helps us to know that we’re not just breathing in and out but are doing something that is contributing significantly to God’s purposes on Earth.
So we have the joy of finding Christ, the joy of following Christ, and the third is the joy of God’s presence. The wise men thought they had lost the presence of God; they had lost the star and were wondering, «Are we just going to go through this journey with no guidance? Are we just going to do it on our own?» Then the star reappears. God says, «I never left you.» There may be moments in our lives when we think God has left us. It may be a moment when you think, «Oh, I can’t see my way clear,» but then God continues to lead us, especially as we read his word and the Bible. His guidance becomes clear to us-the joy of God’s presence.
And today, as we remember Jesus Christ and his birth, may you have the joy of finding Christ, the joy of following Christ, and the joy of God’s presence wherever you go, wherever you celebrate with your family and friends. May this exceedingly great joy fill your heart. Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, I am thankful that you revealed your Son to me. Thank you for the joy of following and serving you. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»