I recently heard someone say that you don't need to be happy all the time, but you do need to choose joy every time. They are not wrong. Happiness is an emotion. We can be up or down at any given moment over something that happens, but joy sustains us through the good and bad times.
Joy, much like peace, is a gift. It's not something we are born with or something we'll run into now and again and think, "Oh, I can use a little of that!" Joy is a choice; much again, like peace. We can choose to be upset about something or we can let God have it and find that peace He promised; the peace that literally passes all understanding. No one really quite understands how it is that I am at peace in my current situation, but it's true, I am at peace with it. Do I want it to change? Yes, and I also know it will change - - because again, I have that promise to cling to.
Happiness wanes, and it is dependent on too many factors that frankly, I can't sustain most of the time. I like to think that I'm right most of the time, but even when I'm right it doesn't always make me happy. Sometimes, I'm downright sad because I'm right about someone or something. I can't tell you how often I wished I was flat wrong about a person who I believed loved me, cared about me, told me they were my friend, and even shared personal time and energy with me - - but then reality hits, and bam - - happiness is right out the door; isn't it? But...joy...stays.
Joy comes from Jesus; it comes from a place I didn't create, couldn't imagine, and won't ever achieve by myself. It comes from the God who without question is the only Creator of it, and He's the one who allows me to share in it. Without Him, there is no joy, and without Him, there is no hope of finding the joy I desire or the peace I truly need. Times hurt. People hurt. We go through times that seem so unnecessary and then wonder why or how it happened...there's bound to be a reason or a lesson to be learned, but the pain is so deep and it runs without stopping to take a breath (at times). But...joy.
Count it all joy, He told us. Because He suffered more. One of the things I like to tell myself when I have a little pity party is that no matter what I'm going through, He was taken captive, stripped, ridiculed, beaten, spat on, made to carry a 300-pound post up a steep hill naked in front of those who both loved Him and those who hated Him for what He stood for. It doesn't end there - - no, after that, He was literally nailed (not tied to) to the cross and it was dropped into the ground using a pulley action mechanism, jolting him and tearing at the flesh where the nails were placed. I have nothing to compare my suffering to.
How then do we find joy when we're being hurt? We remember that He was hurt; and He not only went through it, He remains with us when we go through our trials too. He died that day; He was taken down off that cross...oh, but He didn't stay there, did He? No...no, He did not. This is why Joy lives. This is why Peace is available. This is why we can't find a single reason to worry. This is why being content is easier than we ever dreamed it could be. He did not remain dead -- He lives!
"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, He holds my future, life is worth the living just because He lives." These are not merely words, they are inspired words. They are felt, they are lived, and they are soaked with promise and compassion. They are words that seep and stain our hearts with the indelible ink of His love and covenant. JOY comes to us when we seek it.
There are so many verses in the Bible that talk about it, but here's one that really lands and remains steadfast with me because I wasn't around when He walked the Earth. I wasn't around to experience what the disciples did. I am one of those who has to depend on faith to find the answers, so 1 Peter 1:8 radiates with me: "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy."
I'm so sorry - - does that sound too churchy? Well, get over it, I'm not really apologizing, how can I? "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart - down in my heart - down in my heart, I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart - down in my heart to stay!!" Truth. I may not be happy about things right now, but I am 100% sure it will be OK. What are my options? Live through it and survive or die and go to heaven - - don't tempt me!!
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