2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
Admit it, how many times have you ever wanted to just slap the person quoting that verse?
What makes you happy? Is your happiness predicated on the actions of someone else, or is your mood driven by circumstance?
I’m curious if you noticed that I chose to use the word happy instead of joy. Are happiness and joy the same thing? They both involve emotions, but do both of them come from the same place?
Happiness is a reaction to something great. Joy is the product of someone great.
Think about this for a moment. One doesn’t replace the other. Both are legitimate and both are even necessary. Joy is a fruit (or a work) of the Holy Spirit. Happiness is our own work or “pursuit” you might say. So don’t feel bad if your answer was yes when I asked if your happiness was based on circumstances, that’s natural. Just be aware that Satan knows this well and uses it to his advantage.
So then what is the benefit of joy?
Like the difference between a shallow rooted weed and a strongly rooted oak. Happiness comes and goes, but joy constant. It is that deep rooted joy which supernaturally sustains our souls in the storms of life, seasons of heartache, injustice, and sorrow. Because it is granted by THE KING and not just any king, Joy enables us to not be driven by circumstance. As we learn to trust, we also learn to be content.
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Alabastersky 
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