I’ve recently been thinking about the nature of joy. Joy is often differentiated from happiness as being independent of our circumstances. Whereas happiness is something we feel when we are enjoying our day or things are going well, joy is a state that is available at any time. This may feel foreign or impossible if you are going through a stage of grief, depression or relationship struggles. I was once with a friend of mine who I would consider a very wise woman. That particular morning as we prepared for a ministry activity, most everything that could go wrong was going wrong. As she prayed prior to the start of the event, her statement in her prayer caught my attention. She prayed “Lord , today we choose joy in spite of all that is happening”. As I pondered that, I realized the wisdom there. No matter what is happening we can be joyful. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and we can choose to focus on the eternal gifts and truths that are ours in spite of our circumstances and through the exercise of thankfulness we can attain joy!
