What
makes a joyful person? It is a question that doesn’t get asked much, and in my
opinion doesn’t get asked often enough. Is a joyful person someone who has just
won the lottery, bought a mansion and a new £150,000 car? Is it even someone
who is enjoying the best time of their life, and touring the world? No; these
things can make someone happy, but not joyful. While at first glance joy and
happiness seem very similar, there is a big difference when we look closely.
For starters, happiness is temporary, joy is lasting. Happiness can be affected
by the circumstances, joy can’t. A joyful person is not someone who is enjoying
a good life; it is someone who rejoices in all circumstances. One thing that
almost all the great men and women of God had was joy. Paul and Silas showed
true joy, not when they were having a nice, comfortable preaching tour, but
when they were in prison (And the prison back then would have been like cold,
damp sewers, not the kind of prison you would find today.) Many great
missionaries were living in dire circumstances, maybe even in prison, but they
still managed to rejoice for what God was doing; it’s obviously something that
is part of true godliness; after all the word joy is mentioned 214 times in the
Bible. Finally, joy doesn’t come from the nice things in life, the only true
source of joy is, Jesus. (Rather obvious that’s what I was going to say!) I will probably write this at the end of
every post in the “Fruits of the Spirits” series, but do ask God to give you
joy; it’s a fruit of the spirit, and one of the key things to becoming a good
example of Christ.