1 Thessalonians 1:6
“And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.”
We receive many blessings when we are in Christ. One of them is joy. It’s like a frequency running through our lives. Like a deep abiding smile. It’s there all the time. When we’re concentrating on a task, it’s in the background. Otherwise we can pause at any time and sense it.
Happiness is different from joy. Happiness is an emotion. I’ve heard it said, “Happiness comes from happenings, while joy comes from Jesus.” Joy is deeper than an emotion. We can be sad and still have joy. It’s a joyful frequency below emotions.
Joy can fade. Philippians 4:7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Peace must be present for joy to be sensed. When peace is gone, so it joy. Worries cause us to lose peace and joy.
We will always have worrisome circumstances. We are to trust God with them. We will always have difficult times. God uses them to build trust within us. At the beginning, we usually are alarmed. However, once we’re passed the initial shock, we give it to God for His help. Even though we are no where near a resolution, we can be back to the peaceful, joyful state if we are trusting Him.
Lord, thanks for Your joy.