Joy

   “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.” [Philippians 4:4] The command to rejoice links our joy with an intentional act of the will. We must not confuse joy with happiness. Happiness is unhappiest of all pursuits yet it is the most human of all pursuits. By the very nature of man [a sinner] happiness is at best fleeting.
   Happiness is being satisfied because we have obtained something good that we have desired. It is in the very moment that we gain “happiness,” we begin to lose what was gained. The most natural of all human responses to any given situation is to imagine things as they could be and begin comparing them to things as they are. Immediately our happiness is gone and a new pursuit of the elusive goal of happiness has begun.
   The difference between happiness and joy is found in their source. Happiness is based upon circumstances, many of which we cannot control. Changing circumstance impact our ability to be happy. Joys foundation is relational. Our joy is based upon our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Joy is the sense of delight that arises within us in the presence of someone or something we love. The stability of our joy is in the unchangeableness of our God.
   As a young man or woman, you meet that special someone in whose presence you delight. The next day you are at the mall and all of a sudden you see you special person. You again experience joy. Since this person brings you joy, you begin to look for your special person wherever you go. A strange thing happens to you. It seems that wherever you are, you get a glimpse of a person you think is your special someone but that person disappears in the crowd. Because of the delight, joy that arises when you are in the presence of your special someone, you intentionally look for him/her in every circumstance of life.
   The source of our lasting joy is Jesus Christ. In order to experience joy, we must exercise our will by continually being open to joy by looking for the presence of Jesus Christ in every circumstance of life. We must incline our wills in the direction of God so much so that we see Him in every situation of our lives. A. W. Tozer remarked that we need to develop the “inward habit of beholding God.” To see God, whom we love, in life’s circumstance will bring us joy as we delight in His presence.
   Circumstances can rob us of our happiness not our joy. Circumstances change but the God we love is unchangeable. He is always present; our responsibility is to incline our heart to look for Him in all of life’s events. In the midst of great discouragement the psalmist said, “then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.” [43:4 NKJV] Note how Jesus in John 16:16 – 20 tied His disciples joy to His presence. It is natural to be in the presence of someone you love and it is natural for that encounter to produce joy. Therefore we should say we the psalmist “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” [42:1, 2 NKJV] Anytime, anywhere and in any circumstances God is present we must “make it our continual intention to be open to joy by looking for God in every situation. His goodness is indeed delightful, and will bring us joy once we have Him in view. But the joy will be absent as long as our gaze is turned away from God.” [Thigpen] To love God is to seek Him, to find God is to experience joy unspeakable.