Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I want to honor God with my life. I'm tired of attempting to be just a good citizen or a good man. I want to be a sold-out-disciple of Jesus.
I think happiness is small, but important. It's no line at the coffee shop when I'm late or catching a favorite TV re-run right at the best memorable line. Happiness carries me through a day or a few hours with a little energy buzz.
ReplyDeleteJoy is deep and sustaining. It's being able to smile when my 15-yr-old brother asks to come home for the tenth time instead of staying at his assisted living facility. . .because I know he's healthier, safer and stronger there instead of at home. It's holding a parent's proverbial hand while they make tough decisions about being a strong parent instead of a pushover so their kids come out better in the end. Joy carries me through life with a sustenance I can't do without.
This may be too simplistic, but to me happiness is related to circumstances, while joy is a spiritual constant that is available despite the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteJenny once told me that God didn't promise us happiness, but JOY!
ReplyDeleteI once heard from someone - never let people, places or things determine your happiness. I agree with previous poster - happiness is related to circumstances which could include people, places or things. But sometimes those circumstances can downright steal your joy - your spiritual constant to a point that you cannot see or feel joy despite the circumstance.
ReplyDeletehappiness comes from my love for pizza and diet dr. pepper. joy comes from God's indescribable love for me.
ReplyDeletehappiness is the ability to play soccer and go rock-climbing. joy is the ability to be content whatever the circumstances.
happiness is enjoying an uninterrupted day with my wife and daughter. joy is enjoying an uninterrupted relationship with the Father.
happiness is chased. joy is grasped.
I agree with Rick and Dana. Happiness is usually temporary while joy is a fruit of the Spirit that defies circumstances and sustains us as a fundamental truth of our relationship with a Zephaniah 3:17 God.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments. Thanks for taking time. You have given me a lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteJoy is a lady at the pharmacy who gives me my prescriptions and Happy is a town in West Texas.
ReplyDeleteI think of happiness being something that is self-serving. I think of joy as being something that comes from God.
I have not had many hard times that made me happy but I have been in hard times where I found joy because of what God was doing in the midst of the struggle.
I like the "circumstances" answers. Seems right to me.
ReplyDeleteHappiness is constantly being given to and stolen from you. Joy is your perpetual state in response to the ebb and tide of happiness. James said somehting about that.
I think happiness is an emotion and joy is an attitude.
ReplyDeletei was once told that happiness depends on what is happening. i have always thought of it as a more in the moment kind of feeling. whereas joy is more of a contentment deep from inside kind of emotion. maybe more of a choice, like love. are you getting thoughts for your fruit of the spirit series? :O)
ReplyDeleteLisa, yes!
ReplyDeleteJoy is a choice you make no matter what the circumstances may be. Happiness will come and go based on circumstance. You can be joyful and not happy.
ReplyDeleteIf you are unhappy can you truly say you are joyful? I think trying to make a distinction between the two is our way of rationalizing away a bad mood without taking responsibility for what it says about our lack of gratitude to God. I don't think you can truly say you are joyful, if you are not also happy. Joy comes from recognizing all God has done in spite of our circumstances which will bring happiness if we are truly grateful. Am I always happy--no--but that to me is a symptom of distance from God. In my opinion it's too convenient to dismiss a bad mood by claiming to be joyful underneath it all. It keeps me from doing something about it. Judy B
ReplyDeleteMy family is in the midst of a journey through grief that began in February. It is by far the darkest journey I have ever been on. A happy time? No. But I can truly say that I am joyful, because I am filled with the peace, hope and love of God.
ReplyDelete"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Did Jesus happily go to the cross? No, but He went joyfully.
Happiness, according to the Oxford English dictionary, is based on luck or good fortune. Joy on the other hand, is described as a vivid emotion of pleasure. Thus, happiness depends on circumstance; joy, on our emotional well-being.
ReplyDeleteWondering...there are different words translated as love in the bible--is the same true of joy and happiness?
ReplyDelete