Joy

When was the last time you laughed?  Not just a courtesy laugh at something half funny, but truly laughed and had joy? As we reflect on joy during the third week of Advent, lets' pause for a moment and ask ourselves how much joy do we have in our lives? Jesus is a beautiful gift given to all of mankind and with His salvation comes joy.  When we truly think about our redemption and where we would be without Him,  there is a joy that wells up in our hearts.

Nehemiah 8:10b says "for this day is Holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." The Israelites were coming out of a backslidden state and were sorrowful as they heard God's law read to them because they realized how far away from God they had become.  Ezra told them this day was holy to the Lord their God and they weren't to weep or mourn but rather they were to shift their focus to the celebration of the feast of tabernacles. They would then be strengthened by the joy this celebration would bring. When we shift our focus away from our failures and place it on Jesus, we too can be strengthened by the joy we experience when we put our trust and focus on Him.

Joy and happiness are two different things; Joy is an inward condition of the heart and happiness is based on happenings around us.  We can have joy even in the midst of hard times because joy isn't dependent on the circumstances around us to exist. Things won't always be perfect but His joy will give us the strength to walk it through.   We can draw from the joy within us like water from a well.  Isaiah 12:3 "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." 

The next time you are facing a challenging situation and need to be strengthened, you can choose joy and draw from the well of your salvation by shifting your focus onto Jesus and soak in the reality of His life in you.