“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”
Romans 15:13
Joy.
We all want it. We all need it.
It just might not look exactly like what we were expecting it to though, because a lot of times we confuse it with other things.
Joy isn’t happiness, the absence of pain or struggle, it isn’t getting our own way, or getting all our prayers answered exactly the way we desire, immediately upon sending them up. Joy isn’t everything going right, having money in the bank or raising children who make us proud.
Joy is NOT dependent upon our happiness levels or the facts. It’s quite the opposite: Happy is a result of joy!
Joy isn’t based on our present predicaments or circumstances, joy comes from knowing the God who is present in them all.
Happiness might be our adult children lining up to the moral code we’ve raised them with; joy is when we’ve raised them that way and they’ve went the opposite direction - but we still know God is present, sees and is involved in spite of their choices.
Happiness might be everything in life going along with our perfect little plan, not having to deal with job loss, sickness, death or a million other obstacles life can throw our way. Joy is knowing that in spite of road blocks, drama and grief, that God is still on the throne and is with us through it all.
You see, happiness is fickle, determined and defined on a personal level, joy is steady and much deeper. Happiness is temporal, joy is eternal.
Joy keeps us moving forward - kind of like hope, which is also found in our close relationship with God. True joy isn’t based upon the emotion of joy we’re all familiar with, because we can be sad and still have joy. True joy is God-based.
My definition of joy is knowing that God is present and working it all for good - in every circumstance I find myself in. Yes, as the salty tears flow, joy is right there in knowing each tear is seen and collected by a God who cares, sees and can do anything.
Yes, we all want it. We all need it.
Joy comes from the assurance that God will work it all out for the good even if it looks impossible. Nothing is too hard for God, it’s our fragile minds which have a hard time imagining it come to pass. That’s all about faith, another thing that is God-based.
Joy is wrapped up in our relationship with none other than the God who flung this universe into existence, who formed us in our mothers womb, and came to earth to save us from ourselves. Joy is so much more than being superficially happy, it’s supernatural.
Joy isn’t the absence of trouble and trials, it’s knowing God is with you in them. Whatever we come face to face with today, we can trade our “happy” in for a dose of true joy from the Lord. Our strength! Nothing else can compare.
Yes, we all want it. We all need it. More than that though - we ALL can have it. Joy is more!
I’m so glad to be writing again! Welcome. If you like something you read, please feel free to share it. We all need a dose of encouragement on some days.
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