How is it that we are supposed to have Joy and sing "Joy to the World" when the world and life is painful? We all would want to have that sense of Joy in our hearts and in order to have that Joy we need to understand that JOY IS FOUND IN THE THINGS THAT WE DEPEND UPON. The Christmas story teaches us that Joy is possible!
The coming of Jesus brings Peace. Sometimes we have the idea that Peace is a passive thing that all of the sudden will come to us. However, Peace won't just happen, Peace must be pursued. How do we experience Peace in all circumstances?
One of the worst things in live is having no hope. We all tend to look at circumstances to gain hope but, when things don't work out or when we don't see a change, that hope starts to fade away. This is why we put our hopes in things that we can control. The Advent season invite us to put our hope in Jesus because no thing can be eternally reliable but God.
The Advent season invites us to acknowledge that we all have stories to look back on, and a future to look forward to. Our stories of sorrow, pain and injustice are there to remind us of our need of someone or something that would come to change things and to give us hope of a better future. During this season we are preparing and longing for the coming of the Messiah as Israel did in the past to come to bring hope, love, joy, and peace.