Happiness vs Joy

Happy...an emotion, a feeling evoked by something or someone, by a circumstance, by an event. How many times do we catch ourselves saying "I just want them to be happy." But lately I have truly wondered, how many times does the Lord say "I want you to be happy?"I have no doubt the Lord wants us happy, but as I have begun to search Scripture and truly think about this word, I have realized He wants more than just a fleeting emotion....He wants us to experience joy, a gift only given by Him through His Spirit to believers, to be manifested by believers. Happiness....joy....two similar words but at the same time two words that are worlds apart. 

As I searched the Scriptures, I found (ESV) 8 accounts of the word "happy." All 8 accounts were in Old Testament scriptures and used to describe an emotion based on a circumstance the individual or country was experiencing. "Happiness" was found in 2 separate Old Testament scriptures, one in Isaiah "bring good news of happiness" and one in Lamentations "I have forgotten what happiness is." In all accounts, none are the Lord speaking on desiring His people to be happy, to have happiness, to count everything as happy, to possess happiness. However, as I searched Scripture, I found (ESV) over 171 Scriptures containing the word "joy," 19 containing the word "joyful," and 1 containing the word "joyfulness." They spanned the entire Bible, not just the Old Testament, and the Lord spoke directly to the people desiring the people to have joy, consider it all joy, count everything as joy. So why the staggering difference? What is the Lord truly desiring for His people?

Happiness...it is conditional. It is based on a circumstance, an event, a person, an object. We are happy when our team wins; we are happy when we receive a raise; we are happy when it is sunny and we can experience being outside and enjoying the creation; we are happy when we laugh with someone; we are happy when we have a weekend away. But the next game our team loses, there are bills to pay, rainy and cold days come, people aren't what we thought they were, and work starts all over again on Monday. Happiness, it is an emotion that comes and goes with the tide. 

Happiness...it may not be something positive. A child will enjoy the cookie they have taken from the cookie jar, even if mom said "no," they will be happy eating it, until they realize mom has found out. As you get older, you may make a decision based on what "makes you happy." And then you soon find out you were basing the decision on your feelings and things are not what they seem to be. A person living in sin may be happy with their sin, and then they feel convicted. Happiness, it is an emotion but it may not be a positive emotion.

Joy, it is a fruit of the Spirit. It is given not based on circumstances but to all who believe and is manifested through believers in word and in deed. The Lord says to "ask and I will give because I want your Joy complete!"The psalmist says "Shout for Joy all you people!" The psalmist declares "My heart is filled with Joy because of what He has done!" The Lord says to "consider it all JOY when you suffer!" Though we have not seen Him we "rejoice with great Joy!" Paul declares "May the Lord fill you with Joy and peace!" Joy it is something that is deep inside of us, that can only come from the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Joy is not based on the circumstances around us, not based on a person, not based on object, for we know all these will pass! Circumstances will rise and fall, people will fail us, objects are earthly, but Joy comes only from the Lord. We can have Joy in all circumstances, we can have Joy when people betray us, we can have Joy when we can not pay the bills. Does it mean we will not suffer? No! Does it mean we will not be happy? No! Does it mean we can not be happy? NO!!  Does it make any of these things easier? Yes! Because we know that in all circumstances the Lord is working. We know that the JOY of the Lord is our strength! 
Joy...it will always surround itself with positivity. We do not have to worry about being joyful over the wrong event, over the wrong person, over the wrong scenario. Joy can not surround itself with negativity, it can only be surrounded by positivity! Joy will come when we are in the midst of the Lord's will whether it is the most heartbreaking of situations or the highest mountain. Joy can be in the midst of our weddings, our childrens' births, and in the funerals of our loved ones. But Joy can NOT be present in the midst of our sin, in the midst of our lies, our deceit, our sinful hearts, our sinful lives. Can we think we feel Joy? Yes! Can we be deceived? Yes! The Lord's desire is for us to live lives of Joy, lives that reflect Him. The Lord's desire is for us to become more like Him! And Joy will radiate through our lives, despite our faults and our failures. Repentance, redemption, reconciliation, rejoicing....the Lord and the angles REJOICE over the sinner turned from their sin, not over the sinner sinning. 
Joy, it is the life we are called to live! Do I want those around me to be happy? Of course! Do I want to be happy? Of course! But I want to live a life that is in the will of the Lord, if I am in His will, there will be moments of happiness, but above all I will be filled with joy. If those around me are living a life in the will of the Lord, they will have moments of happiness, but above all they will be filled with joy! To experience joy, changes will have to be made, people will have to be pruned from our lives, jobs will have to be quite, moves will have to be made, jobs will have to be kept, moves may not need to be made, people will need to be placed in our lives, objects and idols will have to be crushed. But we will learn that even when it hurts, there is joy! Even when it is raining blessings, there is joy! Even when we do not know where our next meal is coming from, there is joy! Even when others have treated us unfairly, there is joy! When we live a joy filled life we begin to see that in ALL things the LORD is working for our good, that in ALL things there is JOY! Believers REJOICE! For the JOY of our LORD is our STRENGTH! He alone can fill us with songs of happiness! He alone can change our hearts to hearts of joy!