Joy of a Different Kind

Chuckle:  Test question to a child: "What does the word 'benign' mean?" Answer: "It is what you will be after you be eight." 

 

Quote: “Cultivate more joy by arranging your life so that more joy will be likely.”  --Georgia Witkin  

 

JOY OF A DIFFERENT KIND

 

    "You (Lord) have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and wine.  I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe" (Psalm 4:7-8 NLT).

 

We live in a society where people are constantly searching for that which will make them happy.  More often than not they are searching in the material world for that good job, new house, fancy car, powerful boat, etc. -- that will make their life complete and fulfilled.  The advertising media seems to have all the answers for finding happiness.

 

The Dictionary defines Joy as:  "The emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying."  What is it in your life that gives you the greatest joy?  Is it your comfortable house, money in the bank, prestige, power over others, social status?  Before you answer, let's think together about another definition of "joy" -- joy of a different kind. 

 

The joy that God wants to give you is the inward sense of peace, contentment, and well-being that comes from your relationship with God as you trust Him in every aspect of your life.  The other "worldly joy" might be better called "happiness"  that results from living in pleasant and comfortable circumstances.  In other words, the kind of joy the psalmist is talking about is God-given and of a different kind, not dependent on abundance, success, or pleasure.   

 

Inward joy remains firm and steady as long as we trust God, but human-generated happiness is unpredictable.  It goes and comes and is dependent upon one's circumstances in life.  God-given inward joy of a different kind will help you defeat worry, discouragement, and anxiety, while temporary happiness merely masks or covers up these desperate feelings.  Happiness is like putting a Band-Aid over a wound.  The wound is still there, but is hidden.  Supernatural joy heals the wound from the inside out.  Now, which would you prefer  -- lasting inward joy or fleeting happiness?

 

As a Christian, your answer should be a no-brainer.  It should be the joy that only God can give.  "Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight"  (Psalm 43:4 NIV).  Jesus talks about this kind of joy in His teachings to His disciples.  "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. . . I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete"  (John 15:9,11 NIV).  If Jesus is your Savior and Lord of your life, He wants you to experience the fullness of joy that only He can give as you trust and follow Him each day of your life.

 

Love, Jerry & Dotse