Anyone who knows me very well can tell you I am not a very joyful person. Personality wise I am mostly mellow with very rare and subtle swings.
However, my oldest brother pointed out a while back that the Bible actually commands joy.
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"
Psalm 32:11 "Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"
And we are reminded:
Nehemiah 8:10 "...the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Now before I go further, let me point out something. Joy and happiness are not the same thing. The word happiness comes from happenstance. In other words, your circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, as we can see in the above verses, comes from God.
After the talk that my brother gave I began to study joy a bit more than I ever had. I found that it was closely tied to gratitude. Have you ever noticed it's hard to be thankful for something and grumpy at the same time? And guess what? There is always something to be thankful for!
I really had this last sentence hammered into my brain when one morning while reading verses for a Bible study Grace and I do together I came across this:
Okay, totally a slap in the face for next time I am grumpy because I spilled the chicken spaghetti I was making for super all over the kitchen floor.
If I am told to rejoice under insult and persecution (note: "because of me") when do I not have to rejoice?
I believe that if happiness if based on our circumstance, joy is based on our attitude. We can be joyful without being happy. It is quite possible to say, " I really did not want hot noodles and creamy sauce all over my feet right now but hey, maybe this means we'll get to go out to eat!"
I am going to leave you with a verse I reviewed on Scripture Typer this morning~
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Joyfully,
Kelpie
However, my oldest brother pointed out a while back that the Bible actually commands joy.
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"
Psalm 32:11 "Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"
And we are reminded:
Nehemiah 8:10 "...the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Now before I go further, let me point out something. Joy and happiness are not the same thing. The word happiness comes from happenstance. In other words, your circumstances. Joy, on the other hand, as we can see in the above verses, comes from God.
After the talk that my brother gave I began to study joy a bit more than I ever had. I found that it was closely tied to gratitude. Have you ever noticed it's hard to be thankful for something and grumpy at the same time? And guess what? There is always something to be thankful for!
I really had this last sentence hammered into my brain when one morning while reading verses for a Bible study Grace and I do together I came across this:
Matthew 5:11-12
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.Okay, totally a slap in the face for next time I am grumpy because I spilled the chicken spaghetti I was making for super all over the kitchen floor.
If I am told to rejoice under insult and persecution (note: "because of me") when do I not have to rejoice?
I believe that if happiness if based on our circumstance, joy is based on our attitude. We can be joyful without being happy. It is quite possible to say, " I really did not want hot noodles and creamy sauce all over my feet right now but hey, maybe this means we'll get to go out to eat!"
I am going to leave you with a verse I reviewed on Scripture Typer this morning~
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Joyfully,
Kelpie
I think I like how the NIV words Romans 15:13 slightly better. "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." I like the idea of overflowing with hope. It gives a mental image of a bucket overflowing with water. God fills us with joy and peace through all the wonderful things He does and has done for us. It's so much that our joy tanks overflow and spill out, enabling us to share our overabundance of hope with everyone else!
ReplyDeleteI don't tend to be a very joyful person either - unless I'm taking time to share joy and hope with the people around me.