THE JOY OF THE LORD

As we all know there is a very clear difference between Joy and Happiness. The general definition or difference between them is that Joy is permanent and Happiness is temporal, a result of a current event or situation. Joy received from the Lord seems to be incomprehensible and unimaginable to those that don’t have it or have not witnessed it. This Joy brings about PEACE in the most terrifying situations, it brings STRENGTH when faced with weakness and HAPPINESS where sorrow is expected.

The Joy of the Lord brings PEACE. An assurance of God’s faithfulness brings a kind of unexplainable peace in the toughest of situations. Peace when everything around us technically calls for worry and fear. An example of someone who found Joy in tough situations is Paul. He found himself numerous times in prison as a result of his work for God, he found himself lacking sometimes and near death on multiple occasions. But reading his letters and the manner of his speech, it is clear that it is not from a place of worry or fear, which is expected, but from a place of Authority (in prison), a place of Courage (when faced with death), a place of Love (when surrounded by hate). This was and is still made possible because of the Joy of the Lord that we have. Another biblical example is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. When faced with death, they had peace regardless of the outcome of their decision. This is the type of Joy that brings peace in a Pandemic, causing us to believe we wouldn't get sick, and even if we do, knowing that God is more than able to heal us and even if He doesn’t, knowing we are going to reign with Him in Heaven. This type of Joy is the one received after Salvation, The Joy of the Lord.

The Joy of the Lord brings STRENGTH. ‘The Joy of the Lord is your Strength’ was a statement made to the people of God by Ezra in Nehemiah 8:10, because they were weeping after finding out how far they had derailed from God. The Joy we receive from our salvation through Christ, gives us the strength to fight every thought or act of condemnation as a result of our sins. In my case, the Joy of the Lord Strengthens me when I am having one of those days that for some reason or sometimes no particular reason I feel down and weak. Either by singing praises and remembering all He has done for me, or by just dwelling in His presence and learning about Him, I feel a sudden upliftment. I think we should know that having the Joy of the Lord does not mean we would never have any sad moment or day, having this Joy ensures that we have the strength to go through whatever we face, without losing faith.

The Joy of the Lord brings HAPPINESS. This may sound like a tautology, but what I am trying to say is that the Joy of the Lord brings Joy and happiness at ‘odd’ times. For example James 1:2 says ‘Consider it nothing but Joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials’. It is having or finding a reason to be happy when things around us are falling apart. This is what the Joy of the Lord does. There are numerous examples of those in the bible that were praising and rejoicing God in their sufferings, Paul, Joseph, Job, Silas and so on.

Like the Psalmist, we should ask for the restoration of the Joy of our Salvation, it has a lot more benefits and helps us run the Christain race better. To do this, we first have to acknowledge God as our Father, Jesus as His Son and our saviour, then make Jesus Christ Lord over our lives. By this we are saved and have access to the Joy of the Lord through our Salvation.