“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2.19)

After Jesus was born, Mary could think of nothing more wonderful upon which to meditate. God had sent His Son in the form of a humble baby, whom she herself had borne, to save the world!

I’m going to be honest: joy does not come naturally to me. A content attitude is rarely my first response. I tend to dwell on what could be going better, what I could be doing differently, how God could be helping me.

But joy isn’t about us—it’s about Him. I would venture to suggest that joy is less of an attitude than a focus. Paul tells us, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth... When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3.2, 4).

Christ is our very life. The key to joy is basking in His presence. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5.9). Thus, we don’t have to wait till we’re in heaven to live with Christ. We can begin right now! 

If we started focusing on the loving Creator and Redeemer of our universe every day, every hour, every minute… how could we not radiate gladness?

There is no better source of joy than the Author and Perfecter of it. So treasure up all these things, and ponder them in your heart today.