Joy is one of those sincere pleasures of this human experience. It is something more than mere happiness, for happiness is contingent upon what happens. No. Joy is something more, like a certain contentment, a profound satisfaction that propounds from the deep and overflows throughout ever cavity of person. It is, in some ways, ineffable in that it lies beyond language's ability to convey it accurately because it is so sweeping, so radical.
But the experience of joy is real, the residuals are recognizable. And though the experience of joy is a temporal, fleeting phenomena, the joy itself is something more, something lasting. Think of the simplicity of a sincere smile, maybe the smile of a 1-year-old. When a baby smiles, there is no questioning the joy as genuine and pervasive. There is an honesty to this joy, a bona fide joy that stems from the depths. And, although some external stimuli may initiate the response of joy, the joy is an internal well that pours in various form(s); a smile in the case of the baby. But from where does this seemingly-bottomless wellspring of joy bubble from?
It is this, the source of joy that is worth talking about. God. God is the source of joy. To be in His presence is joy (Psa 16:11). The commandments of the Lord are joy (Psa 19:8). And it is in obedience to the Lord that humans can experience the fullness of joy (John 15:10-11). Understanding that joy is not something that is dependent upon the scenarios of circumstance or the happenings of life, but that it is solely a gift from God will keep us secure lest we begin to misconceive of joy as mere happiness or worse, pleasure.
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