Joyful Noise

In the early dimness of pre-dawn silence I awake to an ear splitting chorale.  The rest of the household slumbers; oblivious to the rising voices.  The words and music hang between heaven and earth, ascending and descending, bouncing between dust and eternity.  Held captive by the stillness of the morning, I, an audience of one, absorb this moment of exultant joy. 

The song presses upon me and enters my soul; claiming space in my heart and finding a place to rest.  Through the light of day and into the darkened night I hear it, and my heart sings to the Lord and all of His creation. How often have you had a song "stuck in your head"?  It happens all the time; the commercial jingle, the catchy TV show theme, pop-tunes, children's songs, even hymns.  These little bits of music, for whatever reason, get stuck, and we play them over and over in our minds, like a broken record. 

The worst part is that we seem to have no control over it.  We hear the song, (sometimes we don't even have to hear it, it simply "shows up" on the scene) and something clicks, we're glued, the "repeat" function is jammed.    And try as we might, it won't go away. It just fades when it's good and ready.  Fortunately, this "condition" isn't serious, and is more like an annoying buzz of a fly than anything else.  We live with it and shrug it off. But, my experience with this particular phenomenon one Advent Season was unlike any other.  Partly because of the way the song arrived on the scene, and partly because of which song it was. 

On that early morning, I found myself listening to a full rendition of "Joy to the World".  The sheer internal volume of the music was almost overwhelming.  "Wake up!" cried the chorus. "There's no time to waste!  PREPARE HIM ROOM!" heaven and nature shouted.  It was as if an alarm had been sounded, and now it was time to scramble. There was a sense of urgency, anticipation, and excitement.  Let's make room! The kingdom is at hand!  The Savior reigns!

Energized and empowered by this song in my heart, I set about my "work"; making room for Jesus in my life. There was one "catch".  I had absolutely no idea how to go about this.  How do you make room?  Where does one start?  What kind of "room" are we looking for? Indeed, the Christmas season seems to be more about "less" than "more".  We have less time, less patience, less quiet, less rest. 

Dare I say it?  The joyful expectation, the wonder, and quiet reflection become buried under social obligations and shopping lists.  We are so busy participating in Christmas activities; we forget that Christmas is not so much about what we do, but it is about what our Father does for us. We are the recipients of His glorious gifts; His grace, His mercy, His love, His Son.  When we are filled up with our "stuff" and endless clutter of our constant doing, how can we expect to be able to find quiet respite in order to open His beautiful gifts?  We can barely breathe in the cramped spaces that we have made for ourselves, much less move in them.

"...let every heart prepare Him room..."

This elusive "room", like water, slipped in and out of my fingers.   Sunday service, here's a bit of "room", quiet time in the car, more "room", daily prayer, a little  more "room". Yet all these became buried under schedules and were plagued by distraction.  The more I attempted to create room, the more frustrated I became. Consistency and focus wavered, and the "room" dissolved, time and time again. Yet through it all I found myself humming.  Humming? Yes, humming. 

And then it dawned on me, could it be?  Could it be right here under my nose; an answer so simple it bordered on the ridiculous?  Could a song, a classic hymn sung by millions of faithful everywhere, "prepare Him room"? During the weeks that I wrestled with "room", I also lived with a hymn; a hymn that stuck in my head like a broken record, a hymn that started with a "bang" on a December morning and drifted in and out of my consciousness at random.  "Joy to the World" had stayed with me the whole time.  As I became fully aware of it, the more I realized what was happening.  Although the song repeated at will, it was not an annoyance.  Just the opposite; the words and music were making room, clearing space, planting joy in my heart.  For all my effort and searching and attempts at "cleaning house", I found that everything I needed had already been given to me. A gift so sublime, that it claimed space and "worked" without my intentional participation.

had been looking for a way to prepare room, but what I really needed to do was listen.  When I began to hear, the picture became clear.  The Spirit had made room through a song! In the hustle and bustle of shopping, socializing, travelling and cooking; there it was; the music, the words, the JOY!  In the background, just below the sound of all my activity was the continuous joyful noise of a choir of angels, just waiting for me to hear and join in their hymn.  My heart sang and the Spirit filled me with love, wonder, hope, and peace.  I hummed, I sang, and I rejoiced!  Thanks be to God for all the wonders of His love!  Come Lord Jesus! May your hearts and minds be blessed with joyful noise this Advent Season Joy to the earth, The Savior reigns! Let all their songs employ, While fields and floods, Rocks, hills, and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy. "Joy to the World", Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748