According to dictionary.com, joy is defined as:
noun
1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
3.the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
4.a state of happiness or felicity.
verb (used without object)
5.to feel joy; be glad; rejoice.
One day sitting in church the preacher I was listening to made the comment that true joy can only come from the Lord. That struck a chord with me. What I have learned since then, is he was correct. I have a lot of respect for this preacher and always have. He preaches The Word. He lives what he preaches. Therefore, he lives out The Word. A quote I really love is "You may be the only bible that a person reads." I don't know who said that, but I think about it a lot.
So, on joy. I have been happy. I have been ecstatic. But have I felt joy? Yes. Is it something I experience daily? No. Does life have to be going perfect for joy to be felt? I don't believe so. There is something about true joy that makes me know in my heart that it only comes from the Lord. The times I have experienced the intense feeling of joy have been a mix of circumstances. Some days it is not a good day and it is after prayer that I have a feeling that washes over me making me feel whole again. Some days I am having a great day when I feel joy. Some days it is just a day that I feel joy. But there is a common thread that happens every day that I have felt joy. No matter what is going on around me, no matter what my circumstances, one thing always takes place. I have always just finished praising God or asking for His help. When true joy has been felt it is unmistakeable. There is a washing of joy over my body that starts at my head and runs to my toes. It is a feeling that makes me want to run around and jump up and down and shout from the mountain tops. It is not a feeling that comes from anything in the world. There is nothing "exceptional" to me in this world, and what could be described as such I always feel God's presence in it. The feeling I link to joy, as a depth that I have only felt when I have felt that washing. Without Him I am nothing.
Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you
may abound in hope."
