joy

I love joy. Several years ago I performed a word study on the word "joy" and it reshaped my understanding of the word and deepened my faith in Christ. The biggest change in my understanding happened when the words "happiness" and "joy" were compared.

Happiness depends on happenstance, or the moment. You can be happy one minute and sad, mad, or ambivalent the next. I once heard a story about a hunter who happened upon a bear. He was so shocked, he dropped his gun, and began to run away. As he was running, he began to pray, "Lord, please make this bear a Christian." All of a sudden, the bear stopped, dropped to its knees, and began to pray. The hunter was filled with happiness until he heard the bear pray, "Thank you Lord, for this food I am about to receive." The hunter’s happiness quickly left him as his situation changed.

Happiness is fleeting. Joy has a permanence. It literally permeates a believer’s spirit. Whether things are great, or the worst, you can have joy. I have seen people display joy when finding out about a terminal illness, and in the midst of a heart-breaking parenting moment, and even at funerals. Granted joy wasn’t the only emotion being displayed, but it was obvious and powerful. These sobering moments bring clarity to the power and source of a believer’s joy, Jesus himself. I define joy as the exuberance or overflow of our confidence in Christ. A confidence in Christ transcends our hurts and keeps our eyes on the prize.

As a church, it is our job to communicate joy to a community living for happiness. Unbelievers , or worse, the spiritually immature, ride an emotional roller coaster seeking out one happy moment after another. As a church, we have an opportunity to minister to a community through our confidence in Jesus and His plan for our lives even when such plans take us down difficult roads.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, give me the ability to discern between my desire for happiness and my opportunity to shine with joy. Help me to rejoice in the confidence we may have in Christ.

James 1:2-3, Proverbs 15:23

-michael kelly