“‘I have told you this /so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.’” (John 15:11 NIV)
Happiness ebbs and flows /based on our changing circumstances. A new
baby or grandchild is born, and we’re all smiles. We win a free
vacation, and we’re ecstatic! The boss gives a big raise just /when we
need the extra money,
and we’re elated. But the euphoria is only
temporary.
* ecstatic : feeling extremely happy and excited:
* Euphoria is an intense feeling of happiness like cloud 9
Inevitably something changes and takes our happiness with
it. The baby gets sick; our vacation gets rained on; our job is
eliminated by a corporate merger. The positive feeling is fleeting. At
best we’re left feeling empty, and at worst, even angry.
So how do we get our happiness back /when the situation changes? We
can’t wish happiness back.
We can’t chase it. Trying harder to regain
it only produces frustration.
If circumstances alone make us happy,
then our situation has to change for us to be happy again. Yet that’s
precisely the reason () we’re unhappy. We don’t, and never will, have
control over the things //that make for “don’t worry, be happy.”
Happiness is circumstantial and elusive, but joy is not
circumstantial. We can have joy /even when we’re not happy. Some may
hear Christians talking about joy and think that joy is just a
religious word for happiness. But joy differs from happiness.
If the
situation is right, anyone can experience happiness. [Even people //who
don’t know God or who curse God] can be happy. But they don’t have joy,
for that blessing in life has a totally different source.
According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit produces joy. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23, emphasis added). Isn’t it interesting
that joy is mentioned immediately after love?
Obviously God doesn’t
want us to live depressed, cranky, and bitter lives. He knows that
happiness is fleeting, so through the Spirit, he gives us supernatural
joy //that transcends our circumstances. Joy is a beautiful gift //that
accompanies salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a gift
/imparted by the Holy Spirit to our innermost being.
If joy is a gift, we should expect to see more of it in the church, yet
we’re often surprised /when we do. However, when we recognize that true
joy doesn’t come from our circumstances but rather from God, we begin
to see joy as a blessing for everyday life. And that joy from the
Spirit will make us distinctive to the culture around us.
-Pastor Cymbala (excerpted from Spirit Rising)
Read John 15:9-11; 1 Peter 1:8-9.