This morning I woke up with this thought running through my mind. Joy is not dependent on fickle emotions. Think about that. Joy does not depend on me waking up on the right side of the bed in the morning or if the morning news is good. It doesn't depend on any external circumstance. Joy, I have found is a presence, much like peace. In my journey, the last couple months, I have been completely filled with peace. That assurance that everything will be alright because I know that my God has never been taken by surprise by anything that happens, that He sees me and knows exactly what I am going through every second of every day. This peace is such a presence in my life that it has totally eradicated fear from me. I am not afraid of what will happen to me today, tomorrow or 5 years down the road. I find that joy has this same kind of presence with me. Joy can be found even in death because I know that I know that I know I am never alone in this journey. Jesus is with me at all times and through all things, and because I know this, joy supercedes fickle emotions that might try to get me to give up on joy, or peace, or hope, or faith. I hope you never give up on these things. They make walking through any troubling journey possible. Once you find joy then happiness can truly be yours also. In general, happiness is the response or the emotion that we experience when "all the stars align in the heavens and all the good luck fairies" converge together. We are elated, happy when good things happen to us, when we get that promotion, or that raise, when someone praises us for an exceptional job, or we find the right person to share our lives with, etc. etc. etc. Unfortunately, when all these things start to fall out from under us we can begin a downward spiral that leads us into depression or worse. This is when we must rely on joy to keep us afloat. Happiness is fleeting but joy is eternal. Joy is a presence that keeps us strong and motivated to keep on going.
A joyfilled journey... This journey will look different for every person because every person is unique, going through different trials, went through different trials in the past and all of that will affect how their journey will go. It doesn't matter the path that we have to take on that journey, it matters who goes with us on that path. I have chosen to walk with Jesus on this path I am on and I have found a joy that is inexpressible because I have Him with me. The joy of living in the presence of Jesus outshines all other pleasures. The more that I give myself to Him and His ways, the more He fills me with inexpressible, heavenly joy.
May you find and enjoy this joy that is heaven sent. I love you. Have a great day and be thankful for the trials you are facing that can bring you to this joy inexpressible.
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