God's Joy
Let’s have a chat about Joy. Joy, believe it or not, is a vital element to our well-being — and not just our emotional well-being! It actually influences our mental, social, physical, and spiritual health. Joy is something that gives one’s life fulfillment and purpose. It provides peace. Now, Joy should not be confused with happiness. Happiness is a fluctuating emotion that comes and goes. Happiness is unpredictable. The nature of Joy on the other hand is steadfast and reliable. You see when one is in a state of Joy, that said Joy does not change according to one’s emotions. I know from experience that one can feel real sadness and yet remain authentically joyful. I want to pose three questions to you: what is Joy, where does Joy originate, and what are the fruits of Joy?
What is Joy? Joy is a sense of being at peace, of being content. It is possessing the knowledge that no matter how bad the world may be, in the end all will be well. Joy is having satisfaction that transcends the material world. Joy is above and in fact overcomes our day to day worry, stress, and anxiety. It overcomes our busy world. It overcomes our broken lives.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love...”
Where does Joys originate? I would maintain from a Christian perspective there are three components necessary for one to obtain joy. That is: faith, hope, and love. Faith: to have a grounding, an anchor for one’s life. Hope: once you have that anchor one can have hope for what is to come. You have knowledge that the future will be okay. And love: which is the awareness of the overwhelming love our Creator has for us and then in turn being a reflection of that love, sharing that love to others. Faith, hope, and love. It is when we have these things we can have a sense of Joy, of peace. Ultimately in answer to question we can say that Joy originates from our faith in God, having hope in his promises, and then loving like Christ loved us.
What are the fruits of Joy? You know, there are some people I know in my life that when you look at them and you can just see this God breathed Joy in them. It’s like you can see Christ working through them, they are just this amazing mirror of His grace. They have authentic Joy in their heart! When you are around Joyful people like that you can’t help but to begin to feel that Joy yourself. Your faith, your hope, and your love are strengthened. When you are filled with Joy it pours out into the community. That’s the best thing about Joy: it’s infectious. So I just want to encourage you to get some Joy in your heart. Hand your worries to God. Naturally, life will still be hard. There is always going to be pain and suffering, but you know what? The side of Joy is the winning side. The pain of this world is only momentary. However, the Joy of Jesus Christ — that lasts forever. So I will leave you with this bible verse just to meditate on. Psalm 30 verse 5 says: “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5).