Emotion word - Joy

 

Joy: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires – delight or a state of happiness or felicity - bliss.  

James tells us to consider it ‘pure joy’ when we face trials of many kinds. But what is joy? (James 1:2-3) The joy mentioned here is a conscious awareness that God is at work in our lives and that He has a tangible purpose for why we may be experiencing these trials. Life’s trials are certainly not fun, but we can react to those painful situations with joy if we understand that God is demonstrating His love for us through those circumstances. God is good and it is a fact. He is good at being God. Nothing bad can come out of Him. He sees the end from the beginning, as well as he sees the middle. I believe if we truly understand and trust this fact, we will not doubt what God does in our lives, however hard the days, months and years appear to be. It is never easy to keep on believing this all day -everyday, when you walk through a season of lows.

Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." It is a natural human inclination to think that living through trials and negative circumstances would not be an occasion for joy. Choosing to respond to life’s difficult situations with inner contentment and satisfaction doesn’t seem to make sense. Joy doesn't mean forcing happiness during sad circumstances. But joy comes during every season. It is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Joy comes from our decision to choose joy. When we stand on tiptoe and look beyond the dark days and fix our eyes on the hope found in our salvation, we can have joy in all circumstances.  It is not easy. It is tough to muster joy when you face a diagnosis of cancer, stand at the grave of a loved one, or experience for yourself the devastation caused by a hurricane or tornado.

1 Peter 1:6 - “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” Here Peter is asking us to ‘greatly rejoice’ even as you suffer grief, because we have an inheritance that is kept in heaven that we receive through Christ Jesus. The two emotions coexist in this sentence. Rejoicing and grief – a paradox. It is ok to feel grief and sadness and desperation.  We can determine where we want our focus to be. Do we focus on the devastation that a season or an event brought in our life or do we focus on our faith in God whose word we believe is true? He is not a man that he shall lie, and His promises are always Yes and Amen! May we never lose hope and take our eyes off Jesus. And when we gaze into His face, may we be able to melt in the love that flows from Him; may our heart be so close to the master that we draw strength from being present with Him and allow His love to flow into our very being, and listen to the Holy Spirit speak into our dark days and our devastation; transforming our emotions to pure joy filling our hearts. I choose joy!

“Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.” Psalm 27:6

Written by : Anu Varghese