Joy

Joy is a word we often don’t give much thought to. In modern culture we use the word happiness. At first glance they may seem like two words that mean the same thing. When I read about joy in the Bible, I find that joy is a bit different. For example, in James 1:2, James writes: Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials. He goes on but I’m stopping there for a second. Trials in this context means troubles. Painful things. For example, a death in the family, or an illness, financial trouble, persecution and such things as that. Now if I was to use the word happy in any of those circumstances, you would think I’d lost it! Happiness is based on circumstances. If everything is going good, then we are happy. When we get a cancer diagnosis? Not so much happiness right? So can we have joy then? Yes! How can we have joy but not happiness? Joy goes much deeper into our life than happiness. Joy is based on what Jesus has done and is doing. Let’s finish the sentence that James started. Because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Joy isn’t based on circumstances. It is looking to what the end result of the circumstances will bring. God doesn’t waste our painful moments. He doesn’t cause them, but he uses them to make us complete and mature in our faith and trust of him. Also, if we have believed in Jesus, and he is our Lord, then we know that our future will be with him. We have hope! So if we have hope in the knowledge that Jesus was raised from the dead, and believe that we too will have eternal life, and that all of this pain Is temporary and making us mature and complete, then we can have joy! Are you going through a hard time now? We all do. But if we belong to Jesus, this hard time you’re going through right now is being used by God to make you better! Are you happy about the pain? Nope! Who would be? But can you have joy knowing it will end with you being better, stronger, and more thankful to God than you were before ? Absolutely you can!!
Thank you Lord for helping us through hard times and for working in us during them to make us more like you!!

God bless