Plumbing is not my thing.
So I was a little on edge when I stopped at our local big box hardware store to get some parts for a toilet I had to repair.
I was uneasy about buying the right parts... and getting the job done
without creating a leak...
...Which often happens whenever I get involved in plumbing.
But as soon as I walked into the store I was magically put at ease.
What, you ask, had such an impact on
me?
It was the music playing inside the store...
They were playing 'Joy to the World'... and it had the same kind of effect on me that David's harp must have had on King Saul (1 Sam.16:23).
... It
encouraged me and brought me good cheer.
Because this carol -- more than any other -- shows how to view the trouble of this world in light of Christmas.
Especially the third verse:
No more let sins
and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
In this life our efforts constantly run up against obstacles and frustrations.
And we pursue our callings
under the shadow of the curse.
But with the coming of Christ we can be assured... through His life, death, and resurrection He's done what's necessary to roll back the curse.
Enabling us to press on through our troubles with perspective...
And sing 'Joy to the World' with a full heart...
As we look to the day when the curse will be turned back in full.