8/29/13: My definition of joy is...

The last week or two I have been pondering what joy means in definition and what it looks like on a person. Does joy mean you have a smile on your face? Is it fleeting or sustaining? Here one day and gone the next or is permanent? Is it an emotion or a standard? I felt prompted to dig into this because I believe that we need an increased understanding of not only where our joy comes from, but where not to look.

Miriam-Webster Defines JOY as:

1. a: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight.
    b: the expression or exhibition of such emotion: gaiety.

2.  A state of happiness or felicity: bliss.

3.  A source or cause of delight.



Searching through the Bible, on the other hand, I have found numerous occasions where we can find "joy". As I continue to ponder what joy actually means, it is still hard for me to grasp the true definition. I have written down a few scriptures to look at:

Romans 12:22 says, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

James 1:2 says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds."

Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

Looking at these three scriptures, the first thing that jumps out at me is the CHOICE involved in being joyful. It is an action, a verb. It's an act of worship. When talking to my clients, I often ask them what they think the difference between joy and happiness is. The answer is always that they are synonymous. I would argue differently, that happiness is a product of joy. Happiness is an ice cream cone on a hot day or getting off of work early. These things do not last. Since joyfulness is a fruit of the spirit, an action, it is also sustaining. It's a glow that radiates from the core of a persons being and cancels darkness, and can only come from the Lord. It's loving and being loved. During hard times of death and loss there can be joy because it ONLY comes from the Lord; without Him there is only death. With joy, death has no sting.

Looking to anything but the Lord for joy will not only cause disappointment, but can cause strife. I look at people in relationships where they look to their partner to fill the void that only God can fill. This is not only selfish, but unrealistic. We are all broken and through our own strength cannot heal another. Jesus wants to be the one to speak identity to people because He is the one who created us in His image. To me, this means that there should be absolutely no self-esteem problems in the church. We were fearfully and wonderfully made. Praise God!

While some look to others to fill the void where joy should fit, others have been so wounded that they self medicate by filling that void with food, alcohol, fiction (such as trashy romance or evolution), work, school, being a martyr, etc. This may be a temporary fix, but after the hangover, the end of the book, achieving a goal, what is next? We need Jesus to be that joy, that light. He is the answer.  

Wherever we are at in life, whether it's double depression, hopelessness, anxiety, business, or carelessness, He is always the answer to joy. If we just ask He will give us the answer and the steps to take to find joy.

Jesus,

I pray that if there is anyone reading this with hopelessness and a loss of direction that You would intervene right now as they are reading and rekindle the flame that they once had. Show us what true joy looks like and how to find it again through reading Your word and prayer. 

Amen



Blessings!

Careen