Joy

Be joyful always.                             1 Thess. 12.22

This is a simple but a vital phrase. We have no control, and often no foreknowledge, of much of what happens to us. We cannot choose the things we experience, nor can we bypass unpleasant experiences. But we can input into the way we respond.

Joy is a different emotion to happiness. Happiness seems to relate to, and depend upon, the direct circumstances of my experience. If all is well, I may be happy.

Joy is not happiness. I see joy as a deeper trait. Joy comes from security in Jesus. Joy is an expression of my relationship with Him. And the security I have in Him, the relationship He offers me, is constant. It is not shifting and fickle. It is steady and enduring. I may not always “feel” this. At times I might need to remind myself that God’s gift to me through Jesus, and my security and confidence in that gift, does not depend upon my emotional state, on “how I feel”. The joy I have in salvation and sanctification is God-generated and not me-generated.

My part is to receive His grace, to accept all that He has done for me and to remind myself of the joy I have in Him. I might be tempted to feel miserable, unhappy or disappointed in myself and some of the circumstances I find myself in, yet I cannot level any of these responses at God. He is worthy only of a joyful state. So, in any situation, I remind myself of His love and sacrifice for me, and I let joy express my gratitude to Him.

Lord God,

You have shown me the miracle and beauty of Your love for me. I receive and embrace it all. 

I cannot allow unhappiness with any personal situation to contaminate the joy that Your saving grace, the intimacy of relationship with You, and the promise of eternal life, bring. 

May I always express Your joy in my life. Swamp me with it. Let it overflow from me, in Jesus’ precious name I ask.                 Amen.