What makes people joyful?
Joy...a word that people like to hear. In the world, being joyful is usually equated to being happy. In a recent survey, 39% of people said that relationships create the greatest happiness, 27% of people said health, 17% of people said wealth, 14% of people said lifestyle, and 3% of people said career. What happens when that relationship you count on for happiness becomes strained? What do you do when your health is not looking good? When you lose your wealth, do you lose your joy. These categories are not bad, rather, God wants us to enjoy these things. However, joy was never meant to be reliant on them.
Biblical joy.
Joy is not a fleeting feeling, nor is it a passing excitement. Joy is not a pleasant feeling produced by mutable circumstances or materialism. Joy is a knowledge and conviction of a truth. Joy is a pleasing outlook on life that is unchanged by the situation. It is an outlook rooted in the truth that God is real, He loves us, through faith in Christ we have everlasting life, He is with us, He is providential, and He causes all things to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Joy empowers us to forfeit worry, divorce ourselves from anxiety, and embrace a hopeful perspective. If we want more joy, and joy is a knowledge and conviction that God loves you and has good things for you, let us press into learning more and more about who God is. Joy does not leave when circumstances worsen. Joy does not cower in fear in the face of adversity. Joy weathers the storms of life and grows more potent as we come to a greater knowledge of God.
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!" - Philippians 4:4
What about sadness?
Did you know that Jesus was a man of sorrows? (Isaiah 53:5) Jesus wept over the state of unbelief in Israel. (Luke 19:41) He also wept when He saw the pain of those mourning Lazarus. (John 11:35) It is okay to feel sadness, for this world is full of pain and difficulty, however, you can also be joyful at the same time. Although we experience difficulty in this world, that difficulty does not change the joy we have in the truth that God is good and He loves us.
Paul explains this well in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed."
Sharing joy.
We have an opportunity to share with others our unshakable joy. Our outlook on life that says God is real, He loves us, through faith in Christ we have everlasting life, He is with us, He is providential, and He causes all things to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
The world needs some joy that cannot be stolen from them. Will you share true joy this season?
Joy...a word that people like to hear. In the world, being joyful is usually equated to being happy. In a recent survey, 39% of people said that relationships create the greatest happiness, 27% of people said health, 17% of people said wealth, 14% of people said lifestyle, and 3% of people said career. What happens when that relationship you count on for happiness becomes strained? What do you do when your health is not looking good? When you lose your wealth, do you lose your joy. These categories are not bad, rather, God wants us to enjoy these things. However, joy was never meant to be reliant on them.
Biblical joy.
Joy is not a fleeting feeling, nor is it a passing excitement. Joy is not a pleasant feeling produced by mutable circumstances or materialism. Joy is a knowledge and conviction of a truth. Joy is a pleasing outlook on life that is unchanged by the situation. It is an outlook rooted in the truth that God is real, He loves us, through faith in Christ we have everlasting life, He is with us, He is providential, and He causes all things to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Joy empowers us to forfeit worry, divorce ourselves from anxiety, and embrace a hopeful perspective. If we want more joy, and joy is a knowledge and conviction that God loves you and has good things for you, let us press into learning more and more about who God is. Joy does not leave when circumstances worsen. Joy does not cower in fear in the face of adversity. Joy weathers the storms of life and grows more potent as we come to a greater knowledge of God.
"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!" - Philippians 4:4
What about sadness?
Did you know that Jesus was a man of sorrows? (Isaiah 53:5) Jesus wept over the state of unbelief in Israel. (Luke 19:41) He also wept when He saw the pain of those mourning Lazarus. (John 11:35) It is okay to feel sadness, for this world is full of pain and difficulty, however, you can also be joyful at the same time. Although we experience difficulty in this world, that difficulty does not change the joy we have in the truth that God is good and He loves us.
Paul explains this well in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed."
Sharing joy.
We have an opportunity to share with others our unshakable joy. Our outlook on life that says God is real, He loves us, through faith in Christ we have everlasting life, He is with us, He is providential, and He causes all things to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
The world needs some joy that cannot be stolen from them. Will you share true joy this season?