Joy vs. Happy

I am generally a happy person. My natural bent towards life has been to be happy but then there is joy.  Joy interestingly is not an adjective like the word happy is defined.  Joy is a noun.  Joy is also byproduct of the fruit of the Spirit. Life may not be going as you think it should, you may find yourself in a very challenging season in life but you can still have joy.  If you are a believer in Jesus, then you have access to the full measure of joy. Happy is circumstantial. Joy on the other hand is eternal and you have it; even when you don't feel it. Joy is in your Spirit. Events in life can make us happy or sad, however we always have access to joy.

Once we learn our true identity in Christ, we have access to unspeakable joy, joy that makes us rejoice, joy that makes us strong even when we feel weak. Hopefully, you know all the benefits of the fruit of the Spirit. If not, here is a reminder. As a believer, according to Galatians 5:22-23 you have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. The living bible translations tells us that when the Holy Spirit controls and I would add "guides" us our life will produce love, joy peace, patience etc. You may be saying to yourself, I'm not very patient or I wish I had more self-control.  The truth is, you have all the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit in your spirit, you may be allowing your life to be ruled by your emotions and feelings rather than the powerful spirit that is in you.

Our emotions will lead us to fear, anger, impatience, worry, hate,  even depression. What I've learned in my walk with the Lord and yielding to the Holy Spirit is that I have access to all the self-control I need for whatever comes my way.  We have the love and the joy of Jesus in our lives to it's fullest.  It's like a muscle, it's all there we just have to use it.  The more we use it the stronger it gets.  The more we tap into love and joy or peace and patience the Holy Spirit will help us.

For me personally, I started by asking the Holy Spirit to help me keep my mouth shut...that's self-control! Wink Wink. God is a good God and he wants his kids not only to have the joy of the Lord but he wants us to be happy.  When your emotions lead you down a road that lacks joy or you are feeling sad, open your bible and study the  "joy" and "happy" scriptures and meditate on them.  Sing, rejoice and you will ignite the joy that is already in you.

Copyright © 2017 Sheri Austin Ministries, All rights reserved.