Per Webster's dictionary:
happy (adjective) -- enjoying or characterized by well-being or contentment
joy (noun) -- the emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires
Happy and joy are truly two different words. One is an adjective -- it describes something. The other is a noun -- something that you can have. Although I believe that many of us do realize that happy and joy are not the same thing, we invariably confuse the two words. A person can have joy without exhibiting happiness. However, a person may not exhibit happiness without possessing joy. True joy does not come from external, material things, but it comes from deep within.
True joy that can mark our lives comes from the relationship that we have with our heavenly Father. One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. When we make the eternal transaction with Jesus, giving our old lives to Him in exchange for the life originally intended for us, we begin to live in the Spirit. When we live in the Spirit, we will possess the fruits of the Spirit. Living in a relationship with Jesus allows us to have a deep and abiding joy. It is not a type of joy that makes us giddy and perky, but a joy that provides us with a hope... a hope that nothing is impossible with God. We can have this joy even in the deepest moments of sorrow and when we weather the strongest storm of our lives. But it is a joy that provides us with the hope that God will see us through and that He really does catch us in the fall.
You really can examine your life and note if you truly walk with an uncircumstantial joy. Does your happiness extend from a joy that is based on a relationship with our Heavenly Father? Or does your happiness and joy come from what is happening in the moment? Living with the solid joy of hope is truly the only place you will ever want to be.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
What I Know...
When I was pregnant I would ask those who had born children what labor really felt like. I had never been through labor and I really wanted to know, in detail, what to expect. The childbirth class Kevin and I were taking provided bushels of great information. However, I wanted to know what labor really felt like. How did I know that I was in labor? How did I know that the contractions were real and not just Braxton-Hicks contractions? The best response I ever received was, "You will just know." That response was not good enough. I wanted explicit details and sufficient information to back up the explanation. I was on a quest for truth and knowledge.
Recently I discovered that I have a similiar response if someone asks "How do I know that Jesus really lives in my heart?" or "How do I know if Christianity is right?" My response, "You just know. I know because of how I am not changed."
I know that I am a changed person. I know that I am different from the person I was before September 8, 2006. I know that I respond differently, the characteristics that I had before have been transformed, and even the desires that I previously had are now gone. I am more certain than ever when I hear God's voice. I am free to live as the person God designed me to be and not to live as someone who is living up to other people's expectations. I know without a doubt that God provided me with a specific gifting and skill set that I get to use to live out my calling. The meanness and bitterness that previously resided in me have been replaced with joy and compassion. Everything that changed within me had absolutely nothing to do with how hard I tried, from self-improvement plans, or just simply doing better... it all came from God and the redemption through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. I am saved and transformed by grace. There is just simply no other way.
So, if you were to ask me, "How do I know that Jesus lives in my heart?" my response to you will be, "You will just know." Then I will tell you the story of who I was, when I personally met Jesus, and who He has transformed me to be. I will point you in the direction of other people who have been redeemed and transformed by the living grace of Jesus. And then I will ask you if you "know" that Jesus lives in your heart because it will be unmistakable if He does. He doesn't hide and He likes to do the work of transforming you into the person He made you to be.
And, if you don't see Jesus there, I will gladly help you invite Him in.
Recently I discovered that I have a similiar response if someone asks "How do I know that Jesus really lives in my heart?" or "How do I know if Christianity is right?" My response, "You just know. I know because of how I am not changed."
I know that I am a changed person. I know that I am different from the person I was before September 8, 2006. I know that I respond differently, the characteristics that I had before have been transformed, and even the desires that I previously had are now gone. I am more certain than ever when I hear God's voice. I am free to live as the person God designed me to be and not to live as someone who is living up to other people's expectations. I know without a doubt that God provided me with a specific gifting and skill set that I get to use to live out my calling. The meanness and bitterness that previously resided in me have been replaced with joy and compassion. Everything that changed within me had absolutely nothing to do with how hard I tried, from self-improvement plans, or just simply doing better... it all came from God and the redemption through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. I am saved and transformed by grace. There is just simply no other way.
So, if you were to ask me, "How do I know that Jesus lives in my heart?" my response to you will be, "You will just know." Then I will tell you the story of who I was, when I personally met Jesus, and who He has transformed me to be. I will point you in the direction of other people who have been redeemed and transformed by the living grace of Jesus. And then I will ask you if you "know" that Jesus lives in your heart because it will be unmistakable if He does. He doesn't hide and He likes to do the work of transforming you into the person He made you to be.
And, if you don't see Jesus there, I will gladly help you invite Him in.
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