Day 42 - Joy

My mother used to say to me, “Happiness is what you feel: joy is what you are.” I didn’t understand that for a long time. But I get it. The closest thing to joy that the world feels is happiness. And they may seem like they could be related. But happiness is dependent on circumstances; joy is not. Joy is what is in your heart as a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in you.

Take a look at the tiny book of 3 John, especially verses 3 and 4. It says: “It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” If you are a parent of grown children, perhaps you have felt great joy when you heard that your children are faithful and active in their walk with the Lord. If you are a grandparent, you have likely felt the joy of hearing your grandchild tell you that they love you.

In the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, do you remember how the father would wait and watch every day to see if his son had returned? Do you remember the description Luke gave when at last the father did see his son coming home? The father ran to meet him. He threw his arms around his son.

Joy is particularly full when what was lost spiritually is found (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10). Take a few minutes to read Acts 16:16-34. Pay particular attention to verse 34. Luke records: “The jailer brought them (Paul and Silas) into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.” Do you remember r this event? Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison because they had cast out a demon from a slave girl. Her owners were not happy about that and filed a complaint. As a result, Paul and Silas did some jail time. During the night, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake and the prison doors flew open and the chains had come loose. He was sure that the prisoners had escaped and because he knew he would be put to death for their escape, he was going to kill himself. But Paul and Silas stopped him, and they told him that they were all there. Immediately, the jailer knew this was the work of God.

While there is happiness to be felt and found in what we might term “having a good day” it takes the joy of the Holy Spirit to sing hymns of praise when treated unjustly. We can find ourselves imprisoned by someone else’s poor treatment, prejudice, and unfair tactics. But with the Holy Spirit, there is still the power and perspective to be joyful.

Have you felt that joy? How can you tell the difference between the joy of the Lord and a sense of happiness? I wonder how the joy of Paul and Silas and later, the joy of the jailer, impacted the other prisoners at the Philippian jail