What makes you happy?
Getting a promotion at work? Nailing a big project? Scoring the best sale of the holiday shopping season?
Happiness often feels like a fleeting visitor, doesn’t it? It comes and goes with the highs and lows of life. It lives on the surface, tied to moments that are delightful but, unfortunately, so temporary.
Joy, however—real joy—is not fleeting.
It’s like the visitor that shows up, makes itself at home, and stays, no matter what’s going on in your life. It doesn’t vanish when the moment ends. It lingers—steady, unshakable—even when life gets hard.
C.S. Lewis once said, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” It’s not a feeling that depends on life going perfectly. It’s a way of seeing the world, of finding beauty and hope in the midst of struggle.
In Elf, Buddy radiates joy, not because his circumstances are perfect, but because he chooses to see the good in everything and everyone. Key word there: chooses.
Buddy chooses joy.
His joy isn’t tied to whether people believe him, like him, or even understand him. It’s rooted in his belief in something greater—a world where kindness, love, and a little Christmas spirit can transform even the coldest hearts.
This is the kind of joy God invites us to live into—a joy that doesn’t deny pain but grows through it.
As theologian Henri Nouwen put it, “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” Faith gives us the courage to make that choice, even in the hardest seasons.
Jesus embodied this deeper joy. He faced rejection, betrayal, and unimaginable suffering, but He lived with a profound sense of hope and purpose. Look at how the writer of Hebrews describes it:
“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
(Hebrews 12:1-3, The Message)
Joy reminds us that sadness and struggle don’t define us—they shape us. It’s the light that comes after the darkest nights, the peace that whispers, “You are not alone.” It’s the deep knowing that God’s presence is with us, always.
Reflection Questions
- Where in your life are you chasing happiness instead of rooting yourself in joy?
- How can you choose joy, even in the middle of a hard season?
- What does it mean to you that joy is unshakable because it’s rooted in God’s love?
Prayer:
God of unshakable joy, thank You for being with us in every season—the highs and the lows, the light and the dark. Teach us to see beyond fleeting happiness and embrace the deeper joy that comes from knowing You. Help us to choose joy, even when life feels hard, trusting that You are working in ways we cannot see. Let Your joy fill our hearts and overflow into the lives of those around us. May we be reminded daily that Your presence is our greatest gift. Amen.