"I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:2 (NLT)
"May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers." Psalm 20:5 (NLT)
"So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy." John 16:22 (NLT)
A friend commented yesterday that he thought “joy” was a retired word—he didn’t think it was used in modern language anymore. Isn’t that curious? He asked what the word meant.
I took a stab and said joy is not just a feeling—it’s a deep emotional response. Joy is not on the surface, but it bubbles up with such a force it cannot be contained. Webster says it’s “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.” I have to add that after I defined it for him, I started singing, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart!” He thought I was nuts.
What causes joy—that monstrous response to spectacularness? Yep, I just created that word, and I rather like it. What makes us smile from deep within? What causes butterflies in our tummy to zoom skyward? What turns happiness into pure joy?
I can think of a bazillion things (now that’s a real word) that cause joy in my life. A friend committing her life to Christ, a nephew being born, the possibility of Jesse’s health improving. Happiness is fleeting, joy is consuming. God is so GOOD to all of us. Even when we experience pain and hardship, there is Joy that comes in the morning. He promises it. We just have to open our eyes to experience it.
Joy isn’t a retired word. Joy is alive in each of us if we allow it to breathe. What brings you joy?
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