Two weeks ago, we lit the first candle on the Advent wreath — Hope. Last week, we lit the second — Peace. This week, we light the third: Joy. And if you’ve been around Grace Bible Church of Phoenix this December, you’ve probably heard a lot about joy. But Pastor Josh White started his message with a question that might surprise you: What’s the difference between joy and happiness?
Most of us use those words interchangeably. But Josh made a clear distinction. Happiness is temporary. It’s external — something happens, and we feel good for a while. You win a game. You get a promotion. You watch a Hallmark movie where the city woman falls in love with the guy who runs the Christmas tree farm. (You know the one.) Happiness comes and goes.
Joy is different. Joy is internal. It’s a state of being, not just a feeling. And crucially, joy is based on something that doesn’t change — eternal truth, not temporary circumstances. Josh put it this way: “Happiness is temporary and external. Joy is more a state of being and is usually based on unchanging truth.”
Three weeks ago, Josh was diagnosed with cancer. That wasn’t a happy moment. But even in that moment, he said, “It gave me a reason to think — this is happening to me, this might have an impact on my life, but it doesn’t change something that is eternal. Nothing can take away my hope. Nothing can take away the fact that I am a child of God. And that allowed me to experience joy.”
That’s the kind of joy Advent points us toward. Not the fleeting happiness of presents and parties — but the deep, unshakable joy we have because Jesus was born. And in his message, Josh showed us two reasons why Christ’s birth gives us that kind of joy — now, not just someday.
Christ’s Birth Gives Us Purpose
Think about someone who lives without purpose. What do they do? They spend their whole life chasing moments of happiness. Will this make me happy? Will this job make me happy? Will this purchase, this relationship, this approval make me happy?
But when you understand who Jesus is and what He did for you, everything changes. You have purpose. And purpose anchors your joy in something that won’t pass away.
“Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create delight.”
— Isaiah 65:17-18
Joshua pointed to the story of the disciples — when they met Jesus, their lives changed completely. Nathaniel, when he realized Jesus was the Messiah, had his entire purpose rewritten in an instant. Everything he’d been doing up to that point was now set in a new direction. He had found his purpose.
“May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
— Romans 15:13
Paul writes that when we believe — when we spend time studying and remembering the eternal, unchanging truths we claim as followers of Christ — we are filled with joy. Not because life is easy, but because life has meaning. We don’t just chase happiness. We live to serve Jesus Christ, and that gives us purpose.
Josh asked a pointed question: If you’re a follower of Jesus, how has your life changed? Do you still run around chasing happiness, or do you actually live differently — knowing your sins are paid for and your purpose is to bring glory to God?
Joy Based on Future Hope
Here’s the second reason Christ’s birth gives us joy now: it proves that God’s promises are real, and the best is still to come.
Josh pointed to Jesus himself as the ultimate example. In Hebrews 12, we’re told that Jesus “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” Think about what was right before Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane — arrest, betrayal, a rigged trial, a brutal beating, rejection from His own people, and ultimately crucifixion. None of those things made Him happy. But the joy set before Him — knowing that you would be with Him forever, that He would return to the Father at His right hand — that joy enabled Him to endure the worst 24 hours in human history.
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
Paul writes this not from a comfortable chair, but from a context of genuine suffering. And his point is clear: because we have an eternal hope — because Jesus was born, died, rose, and is coming again — we can endure temporary suffering with joy. The cross didn’t make Jesus happy. But the joy on the other side of it made everything bearable.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God… More than that, we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
— Romans 5:1-5
So What?
During the Christmas season, there’s a lot of happiness flying around. Parties, presents, Hallmark movies, good food. And those things aren’t bad — they’re gifts from a generous God. But none of them will last. The presents get buried in the closet. The decorations come down. January arrives with its gym memberships and buyer’s remorse.
But joy — the joy we have because Jesus was born — doesn’t fade. It doesn’t depend on good circumstances. It depends on unchanging truth: your sins are paid for, you are a child of God, and the best is yet to come.
Josh closed with a word of encouragement that applies whether your December is full of cheer or full of struggle: You can have joy now, and you can have joy regardless of what happens to you. Because Jesus came, we have purpose in this life. Because Jesus is coming again, we have joy that nothing can take away.
That Advent candle you’re lighting? It represents something real. Not just a feeling. Not just a season. It’s the joy of knowing that your purpose is secure and your future is bright — because of a baby born in Bethlehem, whose story continues to change everything.
Scripture References
- Isaiah 65:17-18
- Romans 15:13
- Romans 5:1-5
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
- Hebrews 12:1-2