Joy--most people would agree that it transcends happiness, but what does that actually mean? I think that we so rarely experience true joy that we mistake it for an elite feeling of happiness. Yet, happiness is based on circumstances, whereas joy comes from understanding and experiencing truth and purpose. When our friends undergo changing circumstances, we ask if they are happy. Does the new car, job, or cute boyfriend make them happy? What about the move to Texas? Excursion to Boston? Eggplant and pumpkin Thai food dish? Maybe yes, maybe no. (Disclaimer: eggplant and pumpkin stir fry makes me happy 98% of the time.)
Joy comes from being connected to someone and something greater than yourself. It comes from fulfilling your purpose, from living out who you were created to be. It comes from expressing truth. It comes from seeing beauty in brokenness. This is why we hear stories of joy from prison, poverty and pain. It may manifest as satisfaction, as contentment, as elation. The feelings themselves are not the point so much as much as the deep life and health that comes from knowing that nothing is beyond purpose, beyond redemption.
Joy has unexpectedly burst into seasons of sadness when I realize that I am connected to stories of hope worldwide. Due to the grace of God, the impact of my simple life is more than the sum total of my actions. Thai food can't hope to compete with that.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4
Joy comes from being connected to someone and something greater than yourself. It comes from fulfilling your purpose, from living out who you were created to be. It comes from expressing truth. It comes from seeing beauty in brokenness. This is why we hear stories of joy from prison, poverty and pain. It may manifest as satisfaction, as contentment, as elation. The feelings themselves are not the point so much as much as the deep life and health that comes from knowing that nothing is beyond purpose, beyond redemption.
Joy has unexpectedly burst into seasons of sadness when I realize that I am connected to stories of hope worldwide. Due to the grace of God, the impact of my simple life is more than the sum total of my actions. Thai food can't hope to compete with that.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4
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