Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
God the Holy Spirit gives us the joy of salvation. I Thessalonians 1:6 says, “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” We will consider the remarkable connection to “affliction” on another day. For now, let us rejoice in the link between salvation and joy. Through faith in the finished work of God the Son, Jesus Christ, we are saved from our sins and brought into the family of God forever. Our salvation is made secure by “the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30). Thus, our salvation is a settled thing. Likewise, joy is a settled attitude. We can see that these two, salvation and joy, must be joined together; one cannot exist without the other. May we be full of thanks for the fullness of God’s salvation and joy.