As I continue on these thoughts on “happiness” I
want to make sure we do not shy away from the difficult questions. All of us…I
know I have…asked how can a person have Joy, yet be unhappy? It’s a
fair question, but the answer is not complicated, it is simple. Remember, “simple”
does not equal “easy” God’s revealed Truth is simple, but much of it is hard for us
because we either resist it in our flesh, or it requires submission, which our
pride does not like…at least that is my struggle.
The beginning of our problem we have already looked at, it has
to do with our understanding of the two words. So for review just remember:
* What is the difference between joy and
happiness?
§ Happiness is based on emotions and is
directly affected by circumstances. Joy is based on Him and our relationship to
Him
* What is so special about joy?
§ Since it is based on Him, it can be as
constant as He is.
* Joy is Defined: Gladness, Contentment,
Satisfaction
If we understand that “happiness” is in constant motion based on
circumstances, then we can see how an attitude of Joy can exist, even when the
emotion of happiness is absent! The false teaching that equates happiness with
Joy attack this idea and some even go as far to say that if you are not “outwardly”
happy you have a spiritual problem or are even in sin! If that is true, then
our Lord sinned…which we know is impossible because He was sinless! Consider:
Matthew 26:37–38
He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished
and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief
to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Now, if you can read that passage and believe that Jesus hopped
and skipped to the cross, your brain is broke! The whole “health/wealth”
teaching ignores the pain and suffering that living in a fallen world involves
to the point that when one of the more famous proponents of this teaching dies,
instead of just stating the Scriptural Truth that because of sin, all humans
will die:
Hebrews 9:27 And
inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment
Many of these teachers try to explain that this leader must
have, had negative thoughts, or spoke out loud about their death and brought
that into existence, or even read personal criticism and spoke that into
existence, which caused loss of health! Sadly, so many children of God believe
this nonsense, which the enemy uses against them when bad or difficult
circumstances happen in their life to drive them away from God! Instead of
understanding that this is a part of life in a fallen world and maturing in their
faith and walk with the Lord, they blame themselves, God or both and quit the
race!
Jesus was very unhappy in the garden that night, so much so
that he said that death would be easier. Be Careful! Jesus did not say, “I
quit and I am gonna kill myself!” A feeling is NOT an action! It is not a
sin to feel like giving up, quitting or even ending it all. Remaining there
emotionally is very dangerous, that’s why we need to run to God and to our
spiritual community with those emotions, however, feeling like that is not a
sin.
When we are there, IF we have Joy we will deal with those
emotions, allowing God to show us the true perspective, and we will have that
gladness, contentment and satisfaction that Joy produces. This is exactly what
Scripture shows us about our Lord:
Hebrews 12:2 fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Father and His Son saw the end of the story! That is where
Joy takes us! Consider raising your child, and God has allowed you to see that
your child will arrive safely in heaven with great rewards for a life that
accomplished much for God and brought Him great glory! Now back up…at 3
years old your child gets very sick…are you happy? At 15 years old, your child
gets in trouble with the law…are you happy? At 25 your child is a
successful, godly business person, then suddenly the business fails and your
child loses everything…are you happy? YET…everyone sees your calmness, your
contentment and a satisfaction they cannot understand. You know why though…you
have seen the end, your child will arrive safely in heaven as a great saint of
the Lord! Nothing, no temporal circumstance, no world catastrophe, no angle
from hell can change the reality that you know in the end, everything will be
great!
Yes…this is hard…when in the midst of a difficult MOMENT,
but it is simple when you consider that God has made it clear that after
enduring perhaps 100 years of difficulties in a world tainted by sin, we are
destined to be secure, happy and with Him for 1,000,000,000,000’S
(trillions…get the point) of years!
We can have joy, no matter how unhappy we are in the moment,
because we know the end!
I had promised to
look at what will keep God’s joy in us, what will steal that joy from us and
why joy is a far superior path to walk than trying to remain on the
rollercoaster of happiness. I will cover that next time.
Meditation: Do
you ever feel like giving up or quitting? What do you do with those emotions?
Do you belong to a small group (community) of brothers and sisters to go to
with those emotions? If not, what can you do about that? Do you understand for
you ( each person is different) how an emotion you have can be turned into an
action you take? How should that impact how you deal with unhealthy emotions?
How about emotions that would be good for your life?
