“I don’t trust happiness… Never did, and never will.”

That isn't a quote from yours truely either...I've trusted and relied on happiness too many times...

And until you've experienced the difference, this may not make much sense...

If you "google it," you will find many quotes about happiness - that wonderful warm, fuzzy feeling we all hope to find. It comes from winning a game, having a crush, being complimented, and so many other pleasant moments. It lasts for a few minutes, or maybe even a few days, and then is gone the moment something bad or unpleasant happens....it is so temporary...

Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit! I don't see "happiness" listed in there anywhere because the fruits of the Spirit are just that, OF THE SPIRIT....they are of Christ who is forever, so they are forever. Joy is experiencing God, it's a radiant smile through streams of tears, it's surviving a heartache knowing there's something better in store, it's rejoicing that a loved one is no longer in pain but rather in the prescence of the King of Kings...it's present even when that warm, fuzzy feeling is gone...and it lasts forever...

Society tells us to "be happy."
Christ tells us to "rejoice."

Look at the dictionary's listings about the feeling of happiness:
1. delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person.
2. characterized by or indicative of pleasure or contentment; a happy mood; a happy frame of mind.
3. favored by fortune; fortunate or lucky: a happy, fruitful land.
4. apt or felicitous, as actions, utterances, or ideas.
5. obsessed by or quick to use the item indicated (usually used in combination): a trigger-happy gangster. Everybody is gadget-happy these days.

What stood out in these definitions? Happiness is fleeting. We feel it about some certain thing or person. But these moods and feelings that we experience change often...they are much too unreliable...



Joy is Biblical.

Three of my favorites:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

-James 1:2

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
—John 15:11

"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory"
—1 Peter 1:8

I found a few synonyms for joy :

Humor.

If you have lived, you have (hopefully) learned to find humor in situations.

It's constant.

Treasure.

Treasure is not fortune. Treasure is something close to your heart...

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" -Luke 12:34

Mirth.

It's the ability to enjoy life and to celebrate.

If you haven't learned this as a part of your every day,

you're missing life in general.

Now follow me on this...God is love. Joy is of God. Therefore, the truest, purest Love brings ultimate Joy. So once again, this is of God and things of God.

Those fleeting moments of warm fuzzies are not Love....or Love that is meant to last anyway.

So look at the things and people that you "love"...if you can't experience joy through the moments that the warm fuzzies aren't present...you may not know my Jesus. He is the only One that brings true joy. And if you do know Him and still aren't experiencing joy in these moments...you might need to re-evaluate whether those "loves" are worth every other temporary feeling that accompany them...

So I'd choose joy over happiness any day.

All credit for those thoughts goes to my Savior...He lays it on my heart, so I write. And I'm no expert, but experience is a pretty good teacher. :)

Happy Monday? blah. Experience Joy on this Monday!