There is an adjective used in the Bible on occasion that I have found to be rarely used in modern societies in general - the word being "joy". So many people say that they want to be happy or successful or even content - not bad things in their own right. However, you rarely hear someone say that they want to be joyful. What is the difference between happiness and joyfulness, you may ask? Happiness tends to describe an outward, sometimes superficial and transient emotion, based often on the people, events, or objects in our lives. Joy, in contrast, is a deep-seated emotion that is not rocked by the beatings of this world or dependent on any one person or "thing", but transcends beyond them to a level completely unknown to those people not belonging to the King. I would even go so far as to say that joy is a form of contentment, or perhaps the other way around. When you are truly joyful, there is an inherent peace that comes with it. I think it is even possible to be joyful in one's sorrow. This may sound like a contradiction, but I believe in certain instances, it may not be. For instance, one may be joyful at the death of a loved one when one has the assurance that that one is with his/her Father...one will still be sorrowful for their own loss on earth, but there is a deeper feeling that eventually overcomes that pain.
I know that more than anything else in my life, I long to have true and complete joy! In the Gospel of John, we learn exactly where to find this joy:
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:9-11)
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