Merry Christmas from our family to yours! During this Advent season, something our family enjoys is listening to Christmas music. Our girls like to start their day by asking their Amazon Alexa to blast the holiday tunes.
A Christmas song you are likely familiar with is “Joy to the World:”
Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing!
In the busyness of this season, I often wonder how I can let my “heart prepare Him room.” Anyone else struggle with focusing on Jesus during the month of December? I think we get a clue how we can from “Joy to the World.” It was originally a poem written by Isaac Watts in the 1700s, based on the words of Psalm 98. In this Psalm, we read in verse 4:
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
I think as we “make a joyful noise to the LORD” and “break forth into joyous song,” this prepares room in our hearts for God. When we raise our voices to praise and worship God, this shifts our focus from what is going on around us onto the One we are celebrating this season. I believe our hearts will have more room for Jesus as we “break forth into joyous song” while we wrap gifts, address cards, run errands, follow a recipe, or shop online. We can join with all heaven and nature in singing joyful songs to Jesus, our “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
I’m taking a cue from my daughters in starting my day off with music and even making a “joyful noise” to refocus my mind and heart on Jesus, the reason for the season. As we celebrate His birth, may our hearts, homes, and gatherings be filled with songs that remind us of the ultimate gift of our Savior. Jesus, who came to earth over two thousand years ago because of His love for us, is worthy of our praise in this Christmas season and throughout every other season.
