It seems that everyone is looking for JOY. One click of the word JOY in a Google search reveals just this:

Joy of Cooking
Joy of Sex
Joy of Old
Joy of Sports
Joy of Baking
Joy of Music

The list continued on for 30 more pages, but I thought I’d spare you. You see the point. Often in my life, my JOY has been dependent on circumstances. I was getting married, we bought a new car, I was finally pregnant, we bought a new house. These were moments of happiness. These were joyful times, but afterward I struggled to feel JOY outside of a particular event or circumstance. It wasn’t until I renewed my relationship with the Lord that I began to understand and experience REAL JOY in my life.

Joy, true JOY, often eludes us. We fall victim to the stresses that rob us of the JOY that we so desperately seek. In a world that is full of discouraging headlines, political turmoil and fear, troubling societal statistics, compounded by the stresses of daily existence, our joy is easily zapped.

We are reminded in 1Peter that BECAUSE we BELIEVE in HIM….we are FILLED with an INEXPRESSIBLE and GLORIOUS JOY.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm….then why are so many seeking what we are told is already there?

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
(1 Peter 1: 8-9)

Is there JOY in your life? Not just JOY in a particular experience, but rather a feeling of complete peace and complete satisfaction in where you are? Why is it that we often see and hear of missionaries returning from some of the poorest countries of the world to report that while resources are scarce, JOY is abundant? We have all the conveniences of the modern world and yet so many among us do not have a sense of JOY about us. These people have an abiding joy that eludes many of us in our society. Yet we are promised in Peter that we are to be “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Joy, as defined by Webster’s:

1. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight b: the expression or exhibition of such emotion; gaiety
2. a state of happiness or felicity : bliss
3. a source or cause of delight

Joy, as defined by God’s Word, is not “a state of happiness” or “good fortune by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” James reminds us in verse 1:2-3:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

Happiness is when everyone makes their beds without being reminded to. Happiness is a bouquet of flowers. Happiness is when you look “good” in a photo! Joy, however runs much deeper. Joy is a feeling that moves much deeper into the soul than happiness.

We face daily stresses and trials that try and rob us of the JOY that GOD so desperately wants to share with us. We allow ourselves to be stripped of the joy, and often we ourselves push it away. Joy comes from the Spirit that lives inside of every Christian. We’ve been given this gift, but unfortunately we refuse to open it or we open it and carelessly cast it aside. We try in our humanness to pursue joy on our own by seeking to avoid those trials that James speaks of and we never really, fully experience or understand the JOY that God intended for us.

Happiness is fleeting. Joy is constant. Joy comes from the Spirit, while happiness is circumstantial and contingent on our environment. Choosing joy is a conscious effort to tap into the Spirit that lives inside of each and every one of us.

Each of us needs to look inward to see where JOY is abundant in our lives. As homeschooler’s we face unusual pressures. We are influencing our children in such profound ways and our example of a JOYFUL spirit, in all things, is going to affect how they find true JOY in their lives.

A profound quote by Henri Nouwen sums up the reality of JOY;

“That does not separate happy days from sad days, successful moments from moments of failure. It is a divine gift that does not leave us during illness, grief, oppression, or persecution. It does not depend on the circumstances of our lives, or even on our momentary feelings.”

The challenge before us is to experience in our lives the kind of JOY that is not dependent on wealth, circumstances, comfort or situations, but a JOY that transcends all of these. That is the joy that Paul writes of when he addresses the Philippians from prison. THAT is JOY that can only be found in the LORD. The kind of JOY that the missionaries experience in poverty filled lands. Joy that is NOT dependent on circumstances or situations, but rather in the Lord. Joy that is lived out in the words of Habukuk:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food….yet I will REJOICE in the Lord. I will be JOYFUL in God my Savior. 3: 17 – 18. How can we reach this kind of JOY in our lives? It begins with God. It’s in having a relationship with HIM that is deeper than a laundry list of prayer requests. It’s a real relationship where HE can reveal to you that Spirit of Joy that He longs for you to experience.

If joy eludes you, spend some time reflecting on these Scriptures and feel the Lord working on your Spirit.

Psalm 65:4
John 15: 4- 5
James 1:2-4
James 1:12
Revelation 2:10
John 16:24
1 John 5:14-15

It’s in seeking the true Spirit of JOY that we too will feel the promise of Nehemiah 8:10,

“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the JOY of the Lord is YOUR strength.”

Do you have a REAL sense of JOY?

We all have different circumstances, and yet the path to true and lasting JOY comes from the same source. It always has, and always will come not from the promises of the world, but lie in the promises of God. Spend some time this Spring looking into your own heart, and know that just as the promises of Spring are real and lasting, so are the promises of JOY. God wants each of us to experience abundant joy….Every single one of us.

Check out my article on page 34 of the funky flipbook edition of Heart of the Matter Magazine.

Lori is a 5 year homeschool mom to 3. Currently a 8th grader, a 6th grader and a 4th grader. Lori insists that when she was wrestling with the decision to home school, a gentle voice guided her with the words, “you know what you should do.” Never looking back, accepting the challenges and rewards and CONSTANTLY clinging to THE ROCK…”No Storm can shake my inmost calm when to this ROCK I’m clinging.” Lori hopes to impart peace and inspiration amidst the daily chaos. Be sure to visit her blog at All You Have to Give.