Joy To The World ...

I bring you good tidings of great joy.

Luke 2:10

At our wedding, my husband and I left the church after being pronounced husband and wife to the beautiful, triumphant carol "Joy To The World" (Isaac Watts) played by a talented organist named LaRue Rains. It was December 21, 1985 and it truly was a joyful time in my world - marrying my life partner, the love of my life. That is enough reason for this carol to be special to me; however, upon further examination and meditation of the words I have found more reasons why I am so fond of it.

Let every heart prepare Him room ...

This particular line of "Joy To The World" is the secret, the key to living a joyful and victorious life, in my humble opinion. To experience joy I must first prepare my heart. To 'prepare' means to put it in proper condition or readiness. In order for Christ take up residence in my heart I must get my heart right, making room to receive Him. If my heart is filled with anything contrary to the fruit - that is, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control then He can not reside there. I might as well post a NO VACANCY sign on my heart.

One of my biggest pet peeves is clutter. Admittedly, I have learned to live with a lot less in the past three years, but I am still surrounded by things I really have no use for. Things that collect dust and are really in the way. I get a lot of satisfaction from cleaning out and getting rid of unnecessary things in my closet. I wonder what would happen if I took on the same attitude with the closet of my heart. Throwing out anxiety, hurt, shame, past sins, guilt, etc. Emptying out so I can be filled. With His love, His goodness, His grace, His mercy.