03/28/2021
Do you want to be happy or do you want to feel joy? Most people don’t know there is a difference. Even the dictionary does not explain it well.
Almost everyone I talk to wants to be happy, but consider that happiness is temporary. You see, happiness is an emotion we feel when we have done something right, accomplished a goal, or someone else is kind to us. What happens then when things go wrong? Oops, there goes our happiness and we become down and depressed, often considering that we are “no good”.
Joy, on the other hand is based more on understanding the world we live in. Having true joy can last through the most difficult of times because it knows that our situation in life is only temporary. Something better is on the horizon. Joy takes some learning and hard work. Joy is tested only through difficult times. This is why most people in this world will search for happiness over and over, then be disappointed when it does not last and they never seem to find joy.
Today, I truly wish for you happiness, but more than that, I hope you struggle to find joy.
Consider Lamentations 3.17:
My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.
and 2 Corinthians 8.1-2 just for starters.
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
A little amount of time spent in understanding the difference between the two might just bring you more of both!
Think about it.