Make the soul of Your servant joyful,
For to You, Lord, I lift up my soul.
Psalm 86:4 NASB
Series: Fruits of Faith
Can you remember the last time you felt truly joyful? Maybe it revolved around a family meal, a fun adventure, or maybe just a quiet day at the beach? When I think about joy and how I have experienced it, I think of laughter, a sense of freedom from any worries, blissful if you will. But I also believe joy can be a calm, peaceful sense of simply living in the moment and allowing my soul to be truly content even when a lot might be swirling around me at once.
You may have seen the slogan “Choose Joy.” I have seen this on T-shirts and coffee mugs, and even billboards. It’s an excellent philosophy, isn’t it? Choosing joy? My mind wants to choose joy. Why wouldn’t I? My heart wants to line up with my mind, but my soul doesn’t always cooperate. Scripture says God wants good things for me, He has a good plan for me, and He loves me, so why can joy be so hard to hold on to? And is being filled with “joy” the same thing as feeling happy?
So often we make the mistake of thinking “joy” equals “happiness.” Though their definitions are similar, there is one crucial difference. Happiness describes the emotion we feel when good things happen, while joy is actually a characteristic of our soul. Outside sources control happiness, but joy results from what we allow into our hearts and minds. Joy is a fruit of our faith in Jesus, not from what is going on around us.
Turning on the news easily deflates my peace of mind. Some days, a heavy blanket of sadness and looming hardship seems to cover every news report. People suffer, fight, and even die searching for what they call happiness or what their sense of “right” is. All signs point to “me” according to culture. The world wants us focused on “what we want” instead of God’s truth and the gifts He generously gives. One of those beautiful attributes is joy. In fact, Galatians 5:22-23 recounts God’s gift called the Fruit of the Spirit. God blesses His children with this as we seek Him, follow Him, and abide in His perfect word.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (ESV)
Do you notice the order Paul presents these qualities? He lists love first. God is Love, and He pours out His love upon us to share it with others. What is next in the list? Joy! God wants us to find joy in His creation, in His provision, and most of all in His presence. If you have ever read the ingredient list on a box of cereal, you know they always list the ingredient with the highest measure first. The rest follow suit. I am not saying that is what Paul is doing in this scripture, but it is fun to think about joy being so high on that list.
Life is hard. Times are tough. Circumstances might cause chaos around us. We will not always feel happy. But the joy that comes from deep within our souls is ours to dwell in. Fix your eyes on Jesus. He fills you with a joyful spirit—even in adversity. Joy is of the soul, but happiness is of the moment. Joy endures hardship and embraces peace. If we remain aligned with Him, He strengthens us, and our joy will not subside. Paul writes in Romans 15:13:
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NASB)
Happiness is here today and gone tomorrow. But joy, when found in Jesus, runs deep and overflows within us. Every time we give thanks or praise to God, we practice joy. When we choose to believe God’s truth over the enemy’s lies, we find joy. In 1 Peter 1:8-9 (ESV) it is written:
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
The promise of spending eternity with Jesus should ignite inexpressible joy within us. Knowing we have the sure hope of salvation, brings us to a place of joy-filled living that we could never have without it. We experience a taste of this each time we sit in His beautiful presence. After all, where He is, joy lives! David sums up this promise for us in Psalm 16:11:
You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Sisters, let nothing steal the joy set before you!
Holding Fast to Hope,
Jen
Scripture References: Psalm 86:4; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 4:8; Romans 15:13, 12:12; John 16:22; Hebrews 12:1b-2; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:8-9; Psalm 16:11
