One statement we hear a lot around Christmas time is “I hope they like (insert gift)”. Sometimes this statement even comes with anxiety that the recipient may think less of or feel less for the giver based on the quality of the gift. I have felt this kind of thinking steal my joy at Christmas and I’m sure it has stolen some of yours at least once in your lifetime too (maybe even yesterday or the day before) or perhaps the reverse is true and you’ve been the disappointed recipient of a gift that wasn’t quite what you wanted or expected.

I have come to realize that this is what happens when we connect the quality of our relationships or our lives to material enjoyment.

True joy – joy unspeakable and full of glory – doesn’t come from packages or presents and it doesn’t come from people either. Pure joy only has one source: God.

When we set the Creator as the source of our joy, we tap into an infinite well of joy. A well that, because it never runs dry, supplies us all day long, all of our lives long. A well that so satisfies every part of our being that we no longer focus on the gift but instead focus on the giver and how much we love and appreciate him/her. We no longer worry over whether our gift is enough because we know that God says we are enough and that the other person is enough and in Him enough is all we need.

What better time than the Christmas season to connect yourself to the joy that never runs dry? Focus on the Reason for the season this season and every season. In Him is our rest found. In Him is our joy unspeakable and full of glory!