After a lot of hard work trying
to get proper description of joy and happiness so I can bring across accurately
the difference between both of them, I decided it’s best to describe them the
way I know to. So, please bear with me bible scholars as this may be too simple.
They both seem so alike but, joy flows from the spirit of man as it is impacted
by the Spirit of God whilst the other is at a very superficial level – flesh. It
takes the Spirit of God who is the fountain of joy to light up our spirit man for
us to experience joy but it is not so with happiness. Whilst happiness is tied
to some good fortune or the other, joy on the other hand is tied to one good
fortune – salvation. It remains a mystery how the entrance of Jesus Christ into
a life transforms that life filling the life with joy but I guess that must be some
of the mystery of Godliness which will forever remain a mystery. Isn’t it
strange how when we behold Him continuously, even with a sad countenance, our countenance
begins to change as His light shines on us? Hence the Psalmist says there is
joy in His presence and guess what! God seems desperate for us to have joy and to
be filled with it.
Psalm 16: 11 “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is
fullness of joy, ay your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.”
Isaiah 61: 1 & 3”The Spirit of the Lord Go dis upon me, because the
Lord has anointed and qualified me to… grant consolation and joy to those who
mourn in Zion-to give them… the oil of joy instead of mourning…”
Mean as this may sound, this joy
the bible talks is the prerogative of believers. It starts with salvation and increases
as we behold God (i.e. see Him in His word as we study His word). Remember that
seeing Him in His word is the privilege of His children from whom He is not
hidden. To those yet to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, He remains
unrevealed. God’s word is always a parable or mystery to those yet to believe
which is why the bible is just another book to them. Such people are unable to
see God in His word and can’t see or touch the benefits therein too. God cares deeply
for His pearl and chooses to cast it carefully. This joy is one of those
benefits that flow from Him and as such can only be experienced by believers
and those to whom God in His omniscience, may choose to give. Joy must
therefore be precious and the devil knows this which is why he is always after
our joy. He works assiduously to make us loose our joy but cares nothing for
our happiness. He even gifts believers’ with things that create excitement making
them temporarily happy whilst steadfastly working to ensure they lose their joy
which he sometimes does through a process but at other times, straightaway. He knows
that possessions can only bring temporary happiness so he sometimes helps to gather
them - good things, the pursuit of which will take one’s eyes off God and many
have found, albeit late, that with all the possessions, joy is still missing.
Psalm 32: 1 “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose
sin is put out of sight.”
Psalm 97: 11 “Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts
are right.”
Psalm 33: 12 “What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord whose
people he has chosen as his inheritance.”
The devil knows that we are able
to thrive in the midst of troubles and shine brighter in the midst of darkness
but only as long as we remain connected to The Light. He knows also that the joy
we derive from remaining focused on The Light is a major source of strength for
us so that if he is able to get us to take our eyes off The light, we lose strength
and are unable to draw on the benefits of salvation because it is with joy that
we draw from the wells of salvation, so he does all he can to take our focus
off the light and lose our joy. The world we live in is really troubled and
full of troubles which trouble people making them troubled and the devil knows
that. So he sometimes lures us, amplifying these already big issues of life or
troubles such that fixing them sometimes becomes our life’s consuming passion. Whatever
becomes a consuming passion becomes our principal focus and if we focus on it
long enough, we lose sight of The Fountain of our joy; losing our joy and
consequently strength and as a result, the capacity to draw from the wells of
salvation. Joy has nothing to do with what is happening around us; it is much
deeper and springs from within.
Romans 14: 17 “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or
drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Joy is a major catalyst in
spiritual warfare. We need Joy to establish the victory Christ won for us. The
enemy knows this so he always takes a swipe at our joy. When he takes a swipe
at joy, his aim is not just to depress one or hurt the thing he apparently
destroyed only, he is often going for something bigger – our destruction; he
only attacks our joy in an attempt to paralyze us. Please hold onto your joy.
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