Joy is not the same as happiness, which is circumstantial, but rather is a heart posture and gift from God. Christians can experience joy even during suffering by focusing on God, communing with him through prayer, and relying on their community of believers. Key aspects of experiencing joy include intentionally praising God, remembering he is near, keeping one's mind focused on godly things rather than difficulties, and living in obedience to God. True joy comes through abiding in God's love and grace.

1. Joy in my Christianlife – 27th
September2016
“Andthe peace ofGod,which transcendsall understanding,will guardyour hearts andyour mindsin
ChristJesus” (Philippians4:7).
Joyisn’tlike happinesswhichisbaseduponhappeningsorwhetherthingsare goingwell ornot.No,joy
remainsevenamidstthe suffering.Joyisnothappiness.Joyisanemotionthat’sacquiredbythe
anticipation,acquisitionoreventhe expectationof somethinggreatorwonderful.Itcouldbe described
as exhilaration,delight,sheergladness,andcanresultfroma great successor a verybeautifulor
wonderful experience like aweddingorgraduation.Butthe definitionof joythatthe worldholdsisnot
nearlyas amazingas biblical joybutjoyisalsoa gift. Joyissomethingwe all longforbutthat often
seemsdifficulttograbholdof.Experiencingjoyshouldbe apart of everyChristian’slife.Joyisa fruitof
the HolySpirit,producedonlybyGod’sworkin us whichwe can alsoavail to others.We can read in
Galatians5:22-23” “But the fruit of the Spiritis love,joy, peace, forbearance,kindness,goodness,
faithfulness, 23
gentlenessandself-control. Against such things there is no law”
We knowthateventhe mostmature Christiansexperienceperiodsof joylessness.Forinstance,Job
wishedhe hadneverbeenborn:“WhydidInot perish at birth, anddie as I came from the womb? (Job
3:11). Davidprayedto be takenaway to a place where he wouldnothave to deal withreality(Psalm
55:6–8). Elijah,evenafterdefeating450 prophetsof Baal withfire calleddownfromheaven(1Kings
18:16–46), fledintothe desertandaskedGod to take hislife aswe readfrom1 Kings19:3–5, ““Ihave
had enough, LORD,” he said.“Take my life;I amno better than my ancestors.” 5
Then he lay down
under the bush andfell asleep”.Whensuchdevoutpeople still searchedforJoy, itreflectsonusas to
howwe can experience joyinthe Christianlife?
The firstthingis to realize thatjoyisnot the same as happiness.Happinessiscircumstantial andfleeting.
Joyis a heart posture.The rootwordfor joy inthe Greekis chara,whichiscloselyrelatedwiththe Greek
charis for“grace.” Joy isbotha giftof God as well asa response tothe giftsof God.Joy comeswhenwe
are aware of God’sgrace and Hisfavor. With thisinmind,itbecomesevidentthatone wayto
experience joyistofocuson God.Rather thandwellingonourdifficultiesorthose thingsrobbingour
contentment,we candwell onGod.Thisisnot to say we shoulddenyourdiscontentor simplyforger
negative emotions.Asmanyof the psalmistspatterned,we canpouroutour heartsto God. We can tell
Him bluntlyall the thingsthatail us.But thenwe submitthose thingstoHimand rememberwhoHe is.
Psalms 3, 13, 18, 43, and 103 are goodexamples.
The book of Philippianshasmuchto sayabout joy,eventhoughPaul wrote the epistle fromprison.
Philippians4: givessome guidelinesforexperiencingjoyinthe Christianlife: Itbeginswithanadvice to
us “Rejoicein the Lord always.I will sayit again:Rejoice! 5
Let your gentlenessbe evidentto all. The
Lord is near. 6
Do not be anxiousaboutanything,butin every situation,byprayer and petition,with
thanksgiving,presentyour requests to God. 7
Andthe peace of God,whichtranscendsall
understanding,will guardyourhearts and your mindsinChrist Jesus. 8
Finally,brothersand sisters,
whatever is true, whatever isnoble,whatever isright, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,whatever
is admirable—ifanythingisexcellentor praiseworthy—thinkaboutsuchthings(Philippians4:4–8).
Here we see the importance of praisingGod,rememberingthatHe isnear, prayingaboutour worries,
and keepingourmindsfocusedonthe goodthingsof God.We can experience joywhenwe intentionally

2. praise.Davidwrote thatthe studyof God’sWord can bringusjoy as we learnfrom Psalm19:8, “The
precepts of the LORD are right,givingjoyto the heart. The commandsofthe LORD are radiant, giving
lightto the eyes”. We experience joybycommuningwithGodthroughprayer. Asstatedabove,Joyhere
doesnotreferto happiness...We experience joybykeepingourfocusongodlythingsratherthan on
difficultcircumstancesordiscontentment. IthelpsustoremovesanxietyanddepressionbecauseJoyis
an emotionthat’sacquiredbythe anticipation,acquisitionoreventhe expectationof somethinggreat
or wonderful rgarwill be receivesthroughthe grace of God.
Jesusalsogave some instructionsregardingjoy.In John15 He talkedaboutabidinginHimand obeying
Him.He said, “Asthe Father hasloved me, so haveI lovedyou. Nowremain in my love.If you keep my
commands,youwill remain inmy love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandsandremainin his
love. I have toldyou this sothat my joy may be in youand that your joymay be complete” (John15:9–
11). One of the keys tojoyis livinginobediencetoGod.
We can experience joyinthe Christianlife throughcommunityinteractions.We canlearnthat we can
have Joywhenwe workto enhance the awarenessof Godskingdom. We can learnfrom Hebrews
10:24–25, “Andlet us consider howwe mayspur one another on toward loveand gooddeeds, 25
not
givingupmeeting together, as some are in the habit ofdoing,but encouragingoneanother—andall
the more asyou see the Day approaching.” Because of the grace of God, we know we can approach
God confidentlyinprayer.We knowwe are cleansedof oursin andwe are joinedintoanew
community,afamilyof believers.Withourfellow believers,we holdfirm toourfaith,trustinginthe
character of God.
Therefore we canlearnthat Joyismeantto be a hallmarkof the Christianlife.Itisafruitof the Holy
Spiritanda giftof God. We bestreceive thisgiftwhenwe focusonthe truthof whoGod is, commune
withHimthroughprayer,and relyon the communityof believersHe hasprovided.