Where do I find this JOY ?

We sing  JOY TO THE WORLD!  The Angels announced  that had “glad tidings” of GREAT JOY! But as I look around the stores, and even inside the 4 walls of a church, it seems pretty hard to find.  So let me help you find “some”. First let me remind you that Joy and Happiness are different.  Simply put, Happiness usually depends on outside “things” ,,, a gift, an event, some “Thing” that make you happy, but it can also be taken away. Joy depends on what is on the inside. It is more than a good mood, or positive feeling.  It is a state of mind, an actual spiritual “force” that emerges from a settled belief in a present of future good that can not be taken away.    For the record.  Joy is in the Bible over 200 times, add gladness, delight and other variations and it doubles to over 400.  And for the deeper students out there. Over 100 of those times  Joy and Happiness are in the same verse- so there is some overlap.
There are different levels of Joy-  from simple contentment, cheerfulness, delight, to exuberant bliss.  Where is your Joy Meter today ?  What would it take to move it up a notch?

Here are 4 things I found that increase my levels of Joy.

1.      Joy of SERVICE- 

knowing God has a plan for me, when I ask the LORD what that plan is, and what my gifts are, for the first time, there was great joy. Now daily, I can go to the LORD and ask “What are “we” going to do today?  Who can we bless? 
2.      Joy in SHARING-
all the ads on TV seem to be centered on some gift that will make you happy !  But I have found that it really is “More blessed to give than to receive”.  Big or little… look for a person, or ministry that you can share a blessing with.  It will bring them JOY, and increase your JOY levels too !

3.      Joy in the SPIRIT-  
Joy is listed among the “Fruit of the Spirit”- number 2 in fact. Psalm 16: 11 says  “In His Presence is fullness of Joy”.  So few Christians know what it is to experience or enter the Presence of GOD.   He is always here,  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be “with  us” always.  But we need to ask to be more aware of His Presence, be filled with His glory, overflow with His goodness. LOOK OUT… this prayer is life changing !
4.       Finally-
there is the JOY of our SALVATION.  May I never forget- that apart from the grace of God, I was doomed,  owing a debt I could not pay, headed away from the LORD, trapped and helpless. BUT GOD … oh how I love those words.  “BUT GOD demonstrated His love for me, while I was yet a sinner…”   Romans 5: 8.   I was at a men's retreat recently with men just out of prison and many recently set free from a life of “addiction”.  And the JOY in the room was sooooo heavy.  To have a roof over their heads, to have a meal on the table, to celebrate being sober for _____ number of days for the first time in years. There was JOY in the house!


Is there Joy in your house? Is there Joy in your heart ?
Jesus prayed the night before He went to the cross that
“His Joy would be in us, and our joy would be complete, overflow”
May it be so this holiday season!
Christmas Blessings!
Gordon