always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, [Philippians 1:4 ESV]
Photo by Mark Najera on Unsplash.
Before I started to write this blog, I looked back to see what I had written previously on this subject. Over the years I have tried to define this word 'joy' as many other people have done. Is it different from happiness? Is it an inward state of mind as opposed to outward expression?
Here is how a writer from the charity Compassion distinguishes between joy and happiness:
"Despite the different perspectives, the idea that holds greater sway today is that experiencing happiness depends on external factors. Happiness happens to us. Even though we may seek it, desire it, pursue it, etc., feeling happiness is not a choice we make. Joy, on the other hand, is a choice purposefully made."
Joy is a little word. Happiness is a bigger word.
Joy is in the heart. Happiness is on the face.
Joy is of the soul. Happiness is of the moment.
Joy transcends. Happiness reacts.
Joy embraces peace and contentment, waiting to be discovered.
Joy runs deep and overflows, while happiness hugs hello.
Joy is a practice and a behaviour. It’s deliberate and intentional. Happiness comes and goes blithely along its way.
Joy is profound and Scriptural. "Don't worry, rejoice." Happiness is a balm. "Don't worry, be happy."
Joy is an inner feeling. Happiness is an outward expression.
Joy endures hardship and trials and connects with meaning and purpose.
A person pursues happiness but chooses joy."
I want to hone in on a vital aspect of joy as it is used in the Bible. Joy comes from God. In June this year, Janie and I decided to stay overnight in a service station as we travelled south enroute to France. The previous time we had chosen this particular service station, we had a quiet peaceful night's rest and we were able to resume our journey the next morning with no hassle. This time was different. It coincided with a large football match and the fans were travelling back in hired minibuses which stopped right outside our campervan and the noisy, inebriated fans were using the service station as a toilet break. Sadly, many of them did not actually go to the toilets in the service station but simply did what they had to do on the grass verges or even the tarmac. But they were undoubtedly happy. They were chanting songs loudly. They was a lot of group hugs. Their team had won the match and they were celebrating.
I contrast this artificial happiness with the joy I witnessed as I visited a dying man in Strathcarron Hospice. His face was radiant and he shook my hand with surprising enthusiasm. He was joyful as he listened to old hymns which meant so much to him. He had found the joy of the Lord in the armed forces many years previously and this was real. He never complained about his circumstances, especially his difficulty in breathing. He had accepted that he was about to leave this earth and he was joyful that he was going to meet his Saviour in heaven.
That is the joy Paul was experiencing as he wrote this letter to the Christians in Philippi. Four times in the short letter he speaks about joy. He was writing from a prison cell. I would hate to be in any prison cell but the first century prisons in the Roman Empire were much less comfortable than prisons today. Paul did not need alcohol to experience this joy. It had entered his heart when he saw Jesus as a light from heaven and heard him addressing him as he was travelling to Damascus to persecute Christians. Paul's joy was from the Lord and did not depend on circumstances. Here is how he describes this contentment and joy in the last chapter of this letter.
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens me. [Philippians 4:10-13 ESV]
The joy of the Lord is your strength [Nehemiah 8:10]. It was the joy of the Lord which gave Paul the strength to endure hardship and persecution. The Greek word for joy is chara and the word for grace is charis. There is a strong connection between these two words.
"Christian joy - the joy that Jesus wants us to have - comes from the knowledge of our eternal relationship with Him. This relationship is based on the undeserved favour of God that we call "grace", that is, the love, mercy and forgiveness freely offered to us because of Christ's atoning death." [Patrick Sookhdeo: Lifting up the Downcast, page 105]
Here are some notes on this subject I made several years ago. It is a work in progress.
Click this link to navigate to them.
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