Joy

Good morning ladies!

What is joy? I used to think that joy was just being happy and I still think there is some amount of happiness in joy. Joy can be an emotion. But often in Scripture, the times that we are to have joy are not necessarily happy times. Sometimes joy is something that follows sadness and mourning.

James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” You will hear Jason and even me quote this verse often. Why? Because for many years we lived on this verse. Trials bring growth and we had a LOT of growing to do. The trials are never pleasant as we go thru them, but when they are finished, we can almost always look back and see how the trials brought growth and stronger faith. I don’t think the verse is telling us to be happy that things are going badly but to know that it’s not going to last forever and once the season is past, we’ll see some growth in our walk with Jesus. That growth brings tremendous joy.

I’m in the middle of writing a book on loss. Everyone experiences loss throughout their lifetime and Jason and I have endured much loss over the years. Sometimes loss can be your own doing but most loss is just part of life. And there are many different kinds of loss. We lost seven babies to miscarriage and it was a hurtful experience. There was no fault, no real cause that doctors could find and I wouldn’t wish it on another person. But eventually there was joy. The joy from our other children and the joy of knowing that we WILL see those babies one day in Heaven. We lost my parents and brother in a relatively short period of time due to age and illness. The joy comes in the memories they left behind and the stories we continue to tell about them. And there have been other losses as well, loss of a home, loss of job, loss of financial security, loss of friendships and relationships…every one of those losses brought pain, healing and growth. Sometimes we learned a valuable lesson and sometimes we learned how God allowed things to happen because He had something different, something better, for us.

Psalm 51:12 says, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Do you remember the day your were saved? Can you recall the joy and happiness that just overflowed? If you were saved as a child, you may not remember that feeling as clearly as if you were saved as an adult. Maybe you’ve recommitted your life to Jesus and felt that joy in that newness of starting over with a clean slate. I used to fret over the fact that even when things were going well, I just didn’t have the joy that I felt on the day of my salvation. But again, I think maybe I was confusing joy with happiness.

I think joy is more often something we choose where happiness usually depends on the day and the circumstances. I believe that the joy we see in the Bible is more about something that is highly valued and appreciated. The reason I believe that is because the things that bring us the most joy are the things that we hold most dear. So with that in mind, we have to focus on all those things that God has done for us, all the gifts He has given to us, and when trials come, what He is going to bring about from it.

So as we go thru our day and week, let’s remember to be joyful because we have so much to be joyful about. We want others to see that joy in our lives daily.

If you haven’t visited us yet and you want to spend time with people who are filled with joy, come visit our little church on the hill, it’s worth the drive!

Lori Hug