Advent Joy: Choosing Joy While We Wait
- Peter Hamm
- Dec 15, 2025
- 3 min read
Advent is not a season of instant gratification.
It is a season of waiting.
Waiting for light.
Waiting for hope.
Waiting for peace.
Waiting for God to arrive in ways we desperately need.
That’s what makes Advent joy so surprising — and so powerful.
Joy, in Advent, is not the absence of struggle.
It is the decision to trust that God is still at work within the struggle.
Joy Is Not the Same as Happiness
Happiness depends on circumstances.
Joy is rooted in conviction.
Happiness says, “Things are going well.”
Joy says, “God is still faithful.”
This matters because Advent doesn’t pretend everything is fine.
It names darkness.
It acknowledges longing.
It gives voice to grief and expectation.
Advent joy does not deny reality.
It declares hope within reality.
Joy in the Midst of Waiting
The people who first awaited Christ were not living in ease or comfort.
They were:
politically oppressed
economically strained
spiritually weary
longing for deliverance
And yet, Scripture dares to speak of joy.
“Rejoice in the Lord always.”
— Philippians 4:4
This is not a command to feel cheerful.
It is an invitation to anchor joy in God’s presence rather than in outcomes.
Advent joy grows not because waiting ends —
but because God meets us in the waiting.
Joy as a Practice of Discipleship
Joy is not automatic.
It is practiced.
Practicing joy means:
noticing grace where you once only saw lack
choosing gratitude when cynicism feels easier
trusting God’s promises when fulfillment feels delayed
resisting despair without denying pain
Joy is formed over time, through attention and trust.
Like any discipline, it takes intention.
The Shepherds and a Different Kind of Joy
When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they proclaimed:
“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
— Luke 2:10
Notice who receives this announcement first.
Not rulers.
Not scholars.
Not the powerful.
Shepherds — ordinary people, living ordinary lives, doing unseen work.
Advent joy does not require spiritual status.
It meets people exactly where they are.
Joy shows up in fields, on night shifts, in exhaustion, and in faithful routines.
Joy That Doesn’t Rush the Season
Advent joy refuses to hurry past longing.
It allows space for:
unanswered prayers
unresolved grief
quiet hope
honest questions
Joy does not silence lament.
It holds lament gently and waits with it.
This is why Advent joy feels different than December cheer.
It’s deeper.
Quieter.
More durable.
Practicing Advent Joy in Daily Life
Advent joy is cultivated in small, intentional ways:
lighting a candle and pausing in silence
praying honestly instead of optimistically
naming where God has been faithful before
choosing hope in one moment at a time
holding joy and sorrow together without forcing either
Joy grows when we pay attention.
Not to perfection —
but to presence.
Joy Rooted in Emmanuel
At the heart of Advent joy is this truth:
God is with us.
Not after everything is fixed.
Not once we feel ready.
Not when circumstances improve.
With us now.
This is why joy can exist alongside grief, fatigue, and uncertainty.
Joy is not the denial of hardship.
It is the confidence that we are not abandoned in it.
A Closing Invitation
Advent joy does not ask you to smile more.
It asks you to trust deeper.
To believe that God is still working.
To receive grace in small moments.
To wait with hope rather than resignation.
Joy is not something you manufacture this season.
It is something you receive —
again and again —
as you walk faithfully through the waiting.
Reflection Questions
Where do you feel the tension between joy and waiting in this season?
What competes with joy in your daily life right now?
How might joy look different if it were rooted in God’s presence rather than circumstances?
What small practice could help you notice joy this Advent?
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