Joy

We often use the terms “happiness” and “joy” interchangeably, but are they really the same thing?

A dictionary definition of happiness is “a state of well-being; a pleasurable or satisfying experience.” A definition of the word rejoice, related to the word joy, is “to feel great delight; to be glad.” Depending on the translation, the Bible uses the words happy and happiness about 30 times, while joy and rejoice appear over 300 times. When the Israelites were suffering from slavery in Egypt, God raised up Moses to lead them into freedom, and the first thing the Israelites did was sing for joy. Even though they were in the middle of a desert. They were vulnerable; the promised land was still far away. They rejoiced anyway. The Israelites chose joy to anticipate their future redemption while in the desert. This joy in the wilderness, this was a defining moment, a way of saying that the joy of God’s people is not determined by their struggles but by their future destiny. They werent happy, but joyful; I think its better described as an attitude not an emotion. Joy is something God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances but because of their hope in God’s love and promise.

Fast forward to the New testament.  During the time Jesus was born, the Jewish people were living under the authority of the Roman Empire, specifically, it’s governed by a man named Herod, who’s a puppet king under the Roman empire. They were facing an enormous amount of persecution and fear just like with Egypt years ago.  The Jewish people wanted nothing more than to be free and govern themselves in their own land.  Amid all of that, many of them were wishing for God’s power to show up as a violent, humiliating military conquest over Caesar and his army. They weren’t wishing for a savior who would come as a baby. Or it was going to be a baby then they were probably hoping for a baby like Jack Jack from the increbilies movies,  having superpowers like laser vision and other abilities.  

This is why it’s significant that when Jesus of Nazareth was born, it was announced as “good news that brings great joy.”

We’re told in Luke 10:21 that Jesus himself “rejoiced and gave thanks to God his Father” when he began to announce the Kingdom of God.  He even taught his followers the same joy in the wilderness, saying, “When people reject and persecute you for following me, rejoice, be very glad, because your reward is great in heaven.” His kingdom was not, yet, to be “of this world” and his enemy was not the Roman Empire but Satan.  Like the Israelites rejoicing in the desert, the followers of Christ found joy while facing persecution in the Roman Empire.  The possibility of future, messianic joy, achieved where necessary through present suffering, gives special depth to the Hebraic attitude of thankful rejoicing in the Old Testment. It also anticipates the New Testmenet understanding of joy.  Christians can have joy in the eternal life that awaits after death. The constant knowledge of the salvation offered by God and love for all people will undoubtedly give us joy, even if our present circumstances aren’t ideal or we aren’t presently “happy.”

Once again, joy is more than just happiness. While happiness often depends on our circumstances, joy is something that comes from deep within our hearts. It’s a lasting, steady source of contentment and gladness, and it’s something that we can experience no matter what season of life we’re in. 

You might be happy about something getting Christmas presents. Growing up I wanted so bad to get the razor scooter and a razor phone for Christmas. I felt like if I had a scooter and a phone I could call my friends directly and go over to their house to hang out or meet up the 7 Eleven without involving parents. I had computer games growing up but we didnt have any consoles in our house, so I had to go play at friend’s houses to play on the Playstation and Xbox.

Like the Jewish people living under the Roman rule I wanted gifts that would give me independence. I ended up getting a scooter as a christmas present which I loved and used so much as a kid but the scooter and other presents I got growing up don’t provide the same happiness now. Those present gave me a temporal happiness but not joy.

I now have joy for a gift from my parents that gave me a lot of anger and frustration growing up.   I got extra tutoring classes.  

Can you imagine getting joy from tutoring classes?  

Especially when my younger brother got to play computer games and see friends when I was in after school tutoring class.  I forget exactly when but I was diagnosed with Dyslexia growing up.  For those who dont know what Dyslexia is, it is a learning disability that primarily affects reading and writing skills. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, “sounding out” words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. For me it really effected my writing and made it difficult to complete essays without spelling mistakes, missing words, and bad grammar.   In school English was always my least favorite subject. If you like English class in school then thats great for you but I enjoyed math and science more because I found they provided opportunities for applying critical thinking to solve problems. I enjoyed the challenge of figuring things out on my own and figuring when to use concepts and formulas.  Math builds upon itself, with each concept leading to the next. This can be satisfying for me since I enjoy seeing the connections between ideas and making progress towards understanding a larger framework. 

Back in school, I didnt enjoy most of the assigned reading and I never enjoyed writing and expressing about my feelings toward a book or what an author was trying to convery. I also felt like there was a lot more memorizing rules and information in my english classes which drained the excitement out of learning. I used to dread writing assignments because I have been diagnosed Dyslexia. For those who dont know what with. Dyslexia is a learning disability that primarily affects reading and writing skills. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, “sounding out” words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. For me it really affected my writing and made it difficult to complete essays without spelling mistakes, missing words, and bad grammar. Over years the extra tutoring helped me improve my writing where I believe it has opened doors to colleges and career jobs which I think would have been a lot of harder if my parents didnt get me into tutoring.

As I have come to experience the joy of school, i have come to understand the importance of language.  Language allows us to build friendships; Language allows us to convey information to others.

Dictionary publisher Oxford University Press’s 2023 Word of the Year is ‘rizz’. Oxford defines the viral term, which is short for charisma, as “someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness.” Another popular iteration of the word is “rizzler,” a title given to individuals who, well, possess a lot of “rizz.” Oxford’s Word of the Year is based on usage evidence drawn from its continually updated corpus of more than 22 billion words, gathered from news sources across the English-speaking world. In order to snag the top spot, rizz had to beat out several other words, like “situationship” and “Swiftie.”

By understanding these words and other non slang words we can understand what people are saying. When we share our thoughts, feelings, and experiences with others using language, we create a connection with them. We can use language to express ourselves in a way that is clear and concise to tailor our communication to the specific situation and the needs of the listener. By learning a rich vocabulary for emotions it can lead to a better understanding of the full emotional range with yourself, others, and God.

American research professor Brené Brown explores no less than 87 emotions and experiences that shape and define our lives in her Book “Altas of the Heart”.  With most of us only being able to identify three emotions – “happy, sad and pissed off” according to Brown – there’s a vast chasm between what we’re feeling and what we’re able to express with others. The book’s central purpose is to empower individuals by providing detailed descriptions, examples, and insights of the full emotional range so the reader can identify and label their emotions more accurately, fostering a deeper understanding of their inner world with others.  

Her book and research shows us how accurately naming an experience doesn’t give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning, and choice.  For me that was really helpful because I had trouble identify what i was feeling or expressing to others how I was feeling. 

In the photo below someone made a chart of all 87 emotions and put them into useful categorizes or “places we go” fill in the blank. The Author lists positive and negative emotion and she challenges common misconceptions and myths surrounding emotions, such as the belief that negative emotions are inherently bad or that we should always strive to suppress them. She emphasizes that all emotions serve a purpose and play a role in our lives.  By learning the positive and negatives emotions and lanuage,  it can lead to a better understanding of the full emotional range with yourself, others, and God.  

As we get ready for Christmas, it can be a time of positive and negative emotions. We often talk about publicly the good things about Christmas but it can be a tough time for people.

Are you dreading Christmas because you know that your mom and dad won’t be able to figure out a way to not fight so much?

Or maybe this is the first Christmas your family is celebrating since a loved one passed away. 

Those moments can be painful on their own, but for some reason, Christmas has a way of bringing a lot of that pain to the surface. If you or your family happen to be in one of those painful moments, I want you to know that you’re not alone. And thankfully, even though Christmas can be a time of pain, it’s also a time where we’re reminded of joy in the truest sense of the word.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend, deserted by His followers, handed over to His people’s religious leaders who wanted Him dead, and then tried and convicted by the Roman government to be sentenced to death on a cross. But even in the face of all that suffering, Jesus never lost his joy. He knew that his pain was not the end of the story. He knew that God had a plan for him, and that plan was filled with love, hope, and joy.

The great joy that Jesus gives to all people doesn’t usually mean that our pain goes away. He doesn’t just snap His fingers and suddenly make everything better. Instead, Jesus has this way of showing up right in the middle of our pain and reminding us that even when we’re hurting we can also have great joy.

My guess is that over the course of the holiday, you’ll run into plenty of people who need joy. So, what might it look like for you to share your joy with others, especially those who need it most? I hope after reading this post you feel challenged with finding ways to share the joy of the good news of Jesus.