I don't know about you, but I sometimes get tired of wondering when the time will come when I'll feel a constant, overall sense of joy. And it seems to me that joy is one of those things that are elusive--hard to pin down..."Am I joyful, or is this simply another emotion that fades with time?" I think the answer is found in clearly defining the term, so...
Let's discuss...
At God Search, we talk about things that could matter, like...
Joy
"Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
The setting is this: The Israelites have been instructed to gather around so that Nehemiah, Ezra, and the priests could read the law of God aloud to them. As and after the law was read, many of the people began to cry, fearful of the wrath of God on sin. But when Nehemiah and Ezra saw the response, they encouraged them to be joyful and to not bask in the idea that they were too weak to withstand the weight of a pure life. Instead, they said, "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." This is such a great illustration of the idea that we are given a choice when it comes to joy. In other words, it's actually possible for us to determine that we will be joyful...that we will choose to have hope, even in difficult times. Apparently, this is a promise from God.
Orator and pastor, Hugh S. Carpenter (1800's) wrote and spoke about this topic in what eventually became a popularized publication called "Joy a Strength." In it, he similized what was said to the Israelites to what might be said to modern Christians experiencing difficulties, and he used the analogy of difficulties to "barren ground" and "storms." Here is an expert from that publication:
Go out of your cares, and your fevers and perils, by going nearer to your Saviour. Catch that glance of His gaze, the very rest of God. The sky is blue above the bleak and barren ground; the heavens smile above the storms. All things seem to die; but God is over all, blessed forever. His joy will comfort your sorrows. It will conquer your fears. It will neutralize your bereavements. It will negative your death. You are on a vessel, and it seems to you that the storm is awful; the waves run mountains high; the ship pitches, and shudders, and creaks. "Captain," you say, with pale face and staring eyes, "this is a terrible peril. We shall go down; she never will weather this gale!" "Gale!" says the captain, "I call this a good breeze. If we had a little more of it we should soon make land." Then you turn and look with wonder in the captain's eyes; they are full of smiling satisfaction, and his heroic face is mild and calm. The captain says, "All is well." He is not disturbed. And the captain's calm is your strength. He ought to know. So Jesus knows. (Hugh S. Carpenter, D. D.)
Clearly, this is also filled with metaphors--the Captain as God, the vessel as our spirit, the storm and the waves as the struggles of life, land as our final destination...Heaven. And I love the way Carpenter reminds us that God's message about the storm is so much different from what our human nature makes of it. The Captain says, "Gale! I call this a good breeze. If we had a little more of it we should soon make land." The message here is that it is BECAUSE of the struggles that we should be joyful. It is the struggles that, if faced with joy, eventually bring us to Him.
"Joy" in Hebrew comes from the word "Chadha," which in its literal definition means "to rejoice." But this isn't very helpful to us in our search for the deepest meaning of the word. After reading several short articles on the topic, one thing that seemed to be consistent was the importance of distinguishing the differences between happiness and joy. So let's highlight some of those.
I came across a great article on Compassion.com that effectively compared happiness and joy. Check out this list:
Joy is a little word. Happiness is a bigger word.
Joy is in the heart. Happiness is on the face.
Joy is of the soul. Happiness is of the moment.
Joy transcends. Happiness reacts.
Joy embraces peace and contentment, waiting to be discovered.
Joy runs deep and overflows, while happiness hugs hello.
Joy is a practice and behavior. It’s deliberate and intentional. Happiness comes and goes blithely along its way.
Joy is profound and Scriptural. "Don't worry, rejoice." Happiness is a balm. "Don't worry, be happy."
Joy is an inner feeling. Happiness is an outward expression.
Joy endures hardship and trials and connects with meaning and purpose.
A person pursues happiness but chooses joy.
In short, happiness is shallow and short-lived. Joy is deep and lasting.
In the following video, a group of young adults expresses what they believe to be examples of situations that give joy. Notice the change at the mid-point of the presentation:
Notice the change? At about mid-point, not only do the messages...the definitions for joy in this case...change, but the expressions on their faces and even their tone change. It was at this point that the true defining qualities of joy were expressed.
And that's today's talk. I hope that something you've heard has been impactful, meaningful, worthy of contemplation. Please subscribe to my channel, and be sure to comment if you feel so compelled.
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