True Joy

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! “ (Philippians
4:4)

Sometimes it's very difficult to put on a happy face. The good news is God doesn't expect us to. To rejoice is not necessarily to cheer. It is something much deeper. As Colleen Townsend Evans puts it -

“Many of us tend to confuse joy with something much less than joy. We think of it in a very shallow way. We think of it as prosperous circumstances or happiness or pleasure or maybe even fun. These things can co-exist with joy but they are not joy. Joy is something that is so deep and so different it is like marrow in a Christian's bones, and it is something that the world cannot take away from us. It is untouched by the various trials that might come our way.”

A Joyful Spirit

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the
bones. (Proverbs 15:30)

As I think of the Christians that have had a great impact on my life and faith, the one common thread that ties them together is this – joy. Joy expressed through smiles and laughter – never at anyone’s expense, but out of a sheer love of God and God’s Creation.

While we certainly will have down days, it is important for us as followers of Christ to share the good news of his love with a joyful Spirit.

St. Francis warns us –

“It is not fitting, when one is in God's service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look.” (St. Francis of Assisi)

Feel the joy of your salvation and share your joy with others.

True Joy

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24-25)

There is nothing we can do to achieve joy in this life. We can only receive it as a gift from our God and Savior. Joy is a rare and precious jewel that is not to be squandered on the ways of the world, but kept securely within the kingdom of heaven where we enjoy fellowship with God and God’s people.

The poet John Donne wrote –

“True joy is the nearest which we have of heaven, it is the treasure of the soul, and therefore should be kept in a safe place, and nothing in this world is safe to place it in.”

Do you have joy? If so, what are you doing with it?