Every day we go through life, we go to work, go to the store, pick up the kids, come home and repeat the same routine every day. Even on Sundays when routines are slightly different we get up, go to church, and have a Sunday meal with the family. The same thing every Sunday. At some point our routine becomes emotionless and every day we just go through the motions. We are happy and wouldn’t trade our life for the world but we have lost our joy. I was having a conversation with a close friend when he said something that really opened my eyes. He said, “You have been worrying me, I think it’s time you step back from life, refocus and find where your joy lies in Christ.” That friend was right (and I am more than thankful for that), I had lost my joy and was just going through the motions.
You see there is a difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is temporary. We can be happy for a while but we are always needing to do more to stay happy. We try to fill a void to be happy and we do it with the things of this world like, attention, affection, money, success, etc. However, joy is everlasting, joy is a fruit of the spirit, and joy comes from God. Knowing that we have God we have joy, no matter how our lives may be going we have that assurance that God will always take care of us.
Romans 15:13 “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.”
You can be happy because things are going right in your life but you can be joyful because God has control of your life. When you give God your life, you give Him control of all the doubt, fear, and stress that can easily takeover your life and have you searching for something to make you happy. If you keep your eyes on God and allow His plan to unfold before you the joy you have coming is much greater than you could ever imagine.
