Benefits of Joy

Ever tried to catch a butterfly?  Try as you may, it always seems to be just out-of-reach.  It seems the only benefit of chasing butterflies is exercise!

Do you confuse happiness with joy?  Happiness comes from “happy” circumstances but joy comes from the well-spring of the soul – the soul rooted in the eternal consistency of Christ Jesus.  Just because we’re sad or tearful doesn’t mean we have no joy.  Why, Jesus stood outside the tomb of His friend, Lazarus, and wept! (John 11:35)  Later, as He approached Jerusalem and considered its spiritual darkness, Luke wrote that Jesus “saw the city and wept” (Luke 19:41)  Billy Graham described joy as “a quiet confidence, a state of inner peace that comes from God.”  When we live in pursuit of happiness, much like that butterfly, it’s always escaping us.  Joy, however, is the constant steady stream of Living Water that never depends on the coming-and-going, up-and-down, here-and-there circumstances of life.  As Nehemiah proclaimed, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (8:10)  What a wonderful consequence of the joy of Christ – strength for each day’s journey.  Oh, the precious benefits of joy!

Dear Lord,

Help me to seek Your face and know Your heart to experience the beneficial joy of Jesus Christ, my Redeemer and Friend.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.