Joyfulness. Happiness. Cheerfulness. All of these words have similar meanings and applications. Or, at least it seems. I think that for the Christian, joy is different from being happy or cheerful. And I think that even among Christian circles, joy is not used properly. It all comes back down to how God intended joy to be defined and how humans have twisted the meaning of the word.

To put it simply, joy does not necessarily mean being happy. I think that we can have joy when we are happy, and we should. When things are going well and everything seems right, we can have joy in the Lord. We can be happy that He has blessed us with so many good things. Psalm 16:11 says “You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This passage speaks of having joy during the good times. It speaks of joy in the presence of God and giving Him praise.

But what about when things are not going right? What about when we seem to be getting hit with bad news after bad news? What about when it seems like we are in an endless pit of struggles? As Christians, shouldn’t we still be filled with joy for the Lord? Shouldn’t we still be giving him praise? It seems hard, and it is. But this is not saying that we are going to be happy. We don’t have to be happy or cheerful to be joyful.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” James 1:2. This can be a hard slap in the face for those who think that joy is a result of happiness. It’s not. The author of this verse is saying that there can be joy in trials. There can be joy when there is no happiness. We can be joyful, but be in mourning. When a loved one dies, there will be sadness and mourning. But if that person was a believer, there can be the joy that the person went to be with the Lord. There is joy amidst sadness. When we are stressed and confused and don’t know where to go or what to do, we can still be joyful that God is in control. As college students, even when there’s homework piling up and we’ve gotten very little sleep, we can still have joy in the Lord.

The connotation that joy equals happiness needs to be changed. Joy is not a result of happiness. There are many people who are happy but do not have joy. However, even when we are sad or upset or worried, we can still have joy. And not just any joy: joy in the Lord. Joy that He is in control, even when things are not going our way. Instead of always trying to be happy, let’s be joyful. It produces better results than happiness.