Joy Has a Source: The Holy Spirit at Work in the Advent Story
Joy erupts when God draws near. Luke’s Advent story reveals how the Holy Spirit brings favor, freedom, and deep soul joy that still transforms lives today.
-
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
Joy, the Holy Spirit, and Growing in God’s Favor
When you read Luke 1, you quickly realize that everyone in the Christmas story is outside their comfort zone. Way outside their comfort zone.
Herod issued a decree that all firstborn male children two years old and younger were to be murdered (Matthew 2:16).
A teenage girl is expecting a child and navigating misunderstanding. Her reputation is being burned up in the eyes of many as she follows the will of God in her life.
This young family, a teenage girl, her husband, and their newborn, are forced to flee to Egypt for their safety (Matthew 2:13-14).
This is not a story about comfort. It’s not neat bows and the warm sentimentality we often associate with Christmas.
The Breakout of Holy Spirit Activity
Let’s explore something exciting:
The person of the Holy Spirit and the promise of joy that emanates from Scripture are wedded with the favor of God. These three threads are interrelated.
Our passage in Luke is a breakout of Holy Spirit activity. Additionally, there’s a breakout of joy, rooted in the Holy Spirit’s activity and presence, as people move with God outside their comfort zone. It’s all rooted in the favor of God.
The activity of the Holy Spirit permeates this story.
“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’
And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’” Luke 1:34-35
Earlier in the chapter, in verse 15, the angel told Zechariah that John the Baptist “will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.” Additionally, his mother, Elizabeth, was also filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41)
Later, when Mary goes to her cousin, Elizabeth, upon hearing Mary’s greeting, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps. The Bible doesn’t say he kicked or turned over. Scripture says he leaps. The Bible even tells us why he leaps: “For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).
The presence of the Holy Spirit is everywhere in this story.
The Holy Spirit’s Presence Changes Everything
Look at what’s happening. The Holy Spirit is everywhere:
The conception of Jesus: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
John the Baptist—in the womb: The angel told Zechariah his son “will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). When Mary greets Elizabeth, John leaps for joy.
Elizabeth’s prophecy: Filled with the Holy Spirit, she recognizes Mary as “the mother of my Lord” before Mary has told her anything (Luke 1:41-43). The Holy Spirit brought supernatural illumination.
Mary’s song: The Holy Spirit unleashes creativity. Mary composes one of Scripture’s most beautiful worship songs.
Here’s the pattern: Wherever the Holy Spirit is active, joy breaks out. Elizabeth has joy. John in the womb has joy. Mary has joy. Simeon has joy. Zechariah has joy. The angels have joy. The shepherds have joy. The wise men have joy.
Joy permeates the Christmas story because it’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit’s activity (Galatians 5:22-23).
Let’s also be clear, this isn’t just ancient history. God is showing us something through these believers who stepped outside their comfort zones. As they experienced God’s movement, they were filled with hope, peace, and joy—the deepest longings of the human heart being met in real time.
Blaise Pascal wrote about a God-shaped hole in all of us that only God can fill. John Piper says God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. You are designed not only to know God through Jesus Christ but to be satisfied in relationship with Him—to experience hope, love, joy, and peace.
This is why we sing “Joy to the World.” The Lord has come.
The Holy Spirit Brings Blessing
The Holy Spirit brings blessing. What we see all over the pages of Scripture is that the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity always activate God’s blessing. Always.
The Holy Spirit fills you with power (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit fills you with the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit empowers you to be holy.
When Christians hear the word “holy,” it sounds like some religious term they can never meet. But what’s important to understand is that holy is just a euphemism for becoming Christlike, which is the point of your Christian walk—being developed to be like Christ. He is the Holy Spirit who is developing you.
He lives to glorify God the Father and to glorify God the Son. He will convict of sin, as Jesus said (John 16:8), but even in conviction of sin, that is unto God’s love, blessing, and protection over your life.
So, what does it mean to have God’s blessing? This word means the divine favor and approval of God, a state of spiritual well-being, inner joy, and contentment derived from being in God’s favor. Not just material possessions or good circumstances—it’s deeper than that. A life aligned with God’s path.
There’s joy emanating in the story from the person of the Holy Spirit. God’s mirroring something to us. There’s joy in living in God’s blessing, and there’s joy living in God’s favor.
Growing in God’s Favor
In Luke 1:30, the angel tells Mary, “You have found favor with God.” Scripture is clear: You can live in God’s favor, and you can grow in it.
Did you know that the Bible teaches you can live in the favor of God? Did you know that the Bible teaches you can grow in the favor of God?
The starting point t is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The greatest act of God’s favor is what God did in Emmanuel, sending God among us in Jesus Christ to die. He was born to die for your sins. This was the sovereign plan of God, that Jesus would come and go to the cross for your sin so that He would take your sin there.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). That’s the root system, which is called the gospel.
But what about after I become a Christian? What about now?
Even though you put faith in Jesus, you are still living under a curse because you’re a fallen human. We’re susceptible to all kinds of patterns: fear, paranoia, control, shame, worry, anxiety, thinking too much about what other people think of you, sins that you battle, always being offended at something or somebody, unforgiveness, self-pity, and bitterness. Those are all results of the curse of living as a fallen human being.
In heaven, none of that will exist in the presence of Jesus. But Jesus came to save you, and He came for more than that. Understand that phrasing, because we want to make much of the fact that He came to save us. But Jesus not only came to save you, but He also came to change you. He not only came to save you, but He also came to purify you. He came to transform you and how you think, how you live, and have your being in Him.
This is why He quotes Isaiah 61:1 on the day His ministry goes public:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Luke 4:18
Why do people have broken hearts? Because they’ve been wounded by their own sin and the sin of others. When you experience wounding, you can become oppressed and guarded. You don’t want to trust God. The enemy has you right where he wants you—believing his lie, living under the curse.
Jesus came to bind up your broken heart. His love is powerful enough to forgive, cleanse, and renew. His gospel sets you free from self-pity, bitterness, unforgiveness, anxiety, worry, shame, control, paranoia, fear—all the symptoms of fallen human nature.
As Jesus and the fullness of His gospel operate in your life, the door opens for you to grow in God’s favor.
When you experience wounding, that can result in self-pity, bitterness, and unforgiveness.
Biblical Examples of God’s Favor
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11
“The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:25-26). You can hear those words as if they’re just warm sentimentality. Or you can hear those words in the context of a reality that’s available to you, believer. These are not just words of warm sentimentality; These are realities.
Think about some characters from Scripture. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8). “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion” (Daniel 1:9). “And the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and with man” (1 Samuel 2:26).
These passages tell us that you can grow in God’s favor. In fact, the psalmist prayed it: “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17). In Hebrew, when something’s said more than once, it’s said for emphasis.
Think about the implications. You could pray it like this: Lord, as I serve at work, let the favor of the Lord be upon me. Lord, establish the work of my hands. As I serve in education, Lord, let the favor of God be upon me as I pour into emerging generations. Establish the work of my hands. As I make this meal for my family, as I drive my car to the next appointment, let the favor of God be upon me. Establish the work of my hands.
Do you see what’s available to you, believer?
“A good person obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 12:2). This tells us that God’s favor is available to you as a believer. God’s favor is something you can grow in as a believer in Jesus Christ.
The favor of God opens doors you cannot open. The favor of God gives strength beyond your own. The favor of God is always linked to the grace and the mercy found in the person of Jesus Christ, and through our faith in Jesus Christ. But the favor of God brings tangible help, opportunities, and supernatural advantage in life, even amid challenges.
“But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). This word “contrite” connotes expressing grief over our own sin. God shows favor on your life when you get on your knees and say, “Lord, I ask for forgiveness for what I said. I ask you for forgiveness for what I thought. I ask you for forgiveness for what I did.”
What we see in the passage is that God shows favor over your life when you express God-centered sorrow over your own sin as you experience His grace and mercy.
Humility is the gateway into the grace and the favor of God. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). To the humble, He gives favor.
I’m not suggesting you will not suffer hardship or challenge, heartache, disappointment, because the favor of God is upon your life. Jesus taught very clearly that there will be seasons of hardship. The Bible teaches that being blessed and favored does not mean you will not face obstacles or pain, but the gift of God, new life, and His favor will sustain and strengthen you in it.
How to Grow in God’s Favor
1) Humility is the gateway.
“But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). The word “contrite” means expressing grief over your own sin. God shows favor when you get on your knees and say, “Lord, I ask for forgiveness for what I said, what I thought, what I did.”
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). To the humble, He gives favor.
2) Seek God.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). “For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:35).
3) Follow God’s way.
Do the God-honoring thing in a God-honoring way. “For it is you who bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:12).
Moses had God’s favor. Why? “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25).
Beyond the Point of Precedence
Many believers only follow Jesus to the point of precedence—only where they’ve been before, but no further.
In the Christmas story, everyone is moving where they’ve never been before. God’s not repeating that exact moment, but He’s showing us something: Many of us are afraid to do what we’ve never done in following Jesus into unfamiliar territory.
What happens? We leave unclaimed new gifts God wants to weave into us. We miss new works of the Holy Spirit. We miss new dreams He wants to birth, new visions He wants to conceive. We miss the opportunity to grow in the favor of the Lord.
If you want God to do something new, you may be led to do something you’ve never done before. You push past familiar territory into the unknown—which is what’s happening with everybody in the Advent story.
Perhaps God is speaking to you about:
Forgiving someone you’ve held a grudge against. Remember how much emphasis Jesus put on forgiveness. But you’ve been in a pattern of fear and control so long. Let go. You’re favored in Christ.
Fasting. Maybe you’ve noticed these patterns in Scripture, but always read over them. Jesus said there’s a blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). When you fast, you declare something holy: “God, I want You more than food. You’re my greatest need.”
Spiritual gifts. “Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1). This is God’s Word, not just a suggestion.
Making disciples. Jesus commanded believers, “Go therefore and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19).
A mission trip—in your city or elsewhere.
Jim Elliot said, “God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.”
Where Growth Happens
We don’t typically grow in our comfort zones. We grow when we’re being stretched. We produce greater fruitfulness for God’s glory outside our comfort zone.
That’s where Jesus shows up in unique ways. That’s where the Holy Spirit is active. That’s where Jesus fills people with joy, which is counterintuitive. That’s how God’s favor works and how we grow in it.
The people in the Christmas story weren’t comfortable. They were following God into the unknown. And there—in that uncomfortable place—they found joy, peace, hope, and love. They experienced the deepest satisfaction of the human heart.
God loves you so deeply that He gave His Son to die for you. The Creator of the heavens and the earth died for you. There is no sin greater than what God took on the cross.
Believe Him. In Christ, your sins are forgiven. Turn to Him as Lord and Savior. The way up is down. Humble yourself before Him and let Him set you free.
Then step beyond your point of precedence. Follow Him into the unknown. That’s where the joy is.
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
TL;DR
Luke’s Advent account reveals a powerful breakout of Holy Spirit activity, producing joy in John the Baptist, Elizabeth, and Mary.
Biblical joy flows from God’s favor, not circumstances, and is rooted in humility, faith, and obedience to God’s Word.
The Holy Spirit brings illumination, conviction, freedom, and blessing, redeeming believers from fear, shame, and spiritual bondage.
God’s favor is not only received through grace in Christ but can be cultivated through humility, seeking God, obedience, and courageous faith.
