FT 6/28/10 - Joy v Happiness
Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 10:49PM There is a major difference between joy and happiness.
Happiness comes from the word 'hap' as in happenstance. It is feeling good about what is happening to you. In other words, happiness is dependent on your circumstances. Good circumstances equates happiness and bad circumstances equates no happiness.
Joy on the other hand comes from a sense of inner peace about who you are within the circumstances. Jesus states in John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." Jesus is the prince of peace, yet He was crucified and His followers are regularly reminded in the Bible that suffering is generally part of this life...yet in the midst of all that, His desire is that your joy may be full. This is a sense of inner peace founded on who you are in Christ.
It is finding joy in who we were created to be that enables us to confidently take control of our lives and cultivate happiness in our lives as we actively choose to act in accordance with our identity in Christ. Without joy we have no choice but to act in accordance with our circumstances. This lends us to living as a victim. With joy we have the ability to act in accordance of our identity regardless of our circumstances. Thus, we stop being a victim and start living as a victor...which will lead to happiness!
What do you think?
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