Joy

CHRISTIAN LIVING TODAY

Joy is more than a feeling.

Common descriptions people may use include happy, glad or pleased, but I rarely hear people say joyous. Allow me to share a recent experience of joy.

For me, the feeling of joy is almost beyond description. It was extreme happiness that required a different expression — fulfilling, beyond satisfaction or delight, more than contentment — like a heart bursting with the deepest joy.

A dictionary definition of joy is “the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life.”

A biblical meaning of joy differs somewhat.

The word describes something more than mere emotion. It is a settled, Spirit-given delight that arises from the redemptive acts and abiding presence of God. Rooted in divine initiative, it is experienced in the believer.

I believe joy is also a deep awareness of answered prayer, producing an overflowing awareness of God’s activity in one’s life.

Scripture includes passages that tell Christians to “count it all joy when you encounter various trials” (James 1:2). We are reminded that when Jesus considered the demands and cost of following God, embracing the sacrifice of the cross, He endured “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). We can encourage each other with these verses. We can stand alongside each other in adversity, sharing our joy and upholding others as they endure various trials.

We can learn from Jesus’ example that after cost, there is joy — joy in following God’s guidance in our lives. Joy from being submissive to Him and living as He prescribes in His Word.

This mindset illustrates our experience of God’s grace. The origin of these words is a verb — to rejoice or be glad — telling us about the actions of faith and grace.

Scripture provides us with great hope, understanding that we are never singled out for adversity or tribulation.

Romans 12:2 tells us that we can rejoice because we have trust and confidence in the One who holds our life and future. If our life includes affliction, pressure or distress, we may still experience joy because God provides our security.

As His child, no one and no difficulty can rip us from His hand. A child cannot ever be “unborn.” You are safe and secure.

Yes, joy is more than emotion. It is security. It is hope. It is proof of God’s love for us. It is the beauty of answered prayer. Until next week, Anita

Onarecker, an Elgin resident, author of “Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge” and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.

Anita