WHAT ARE YOU HAPPY ABOUT? WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?

WHAT ARE YOU HAPPY ABOUT?

WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY?

 

One of the biggest discoveries of a woman’s life is learning to

differentiate between the concepts of happiness and joy.

Happiness is based on temporal and worldly things like national

holidays, finding a great restaurant, straight A’s on your kid’s

report card, a jog along the beach, or a 30-percent off shoe

sale! Joy is different. It comes from having Jesus in your heart.

Whereas happiness is like a slice of chocolate cake, joy is more

like having the recipe. Happiness does have its place in your

life. It’s actually God’s gift of human emotion. Let’s face it, a

little fun and frivolity help get you through many otherwise

dreary days! But Jesus did not die on the cross to make sure

that you were happy, but rather to ensure that you would have

the joy of knowing and glorifying him. Today it is critical that

you stop to recognize the difference between being temporarily

happy and having the long-lasting joy of Jesus. Let this concept

teach you more about God’s will for your life.

 

HAPPY DAYS AND A JOYOUS LIFE

 

What’s better than going to a theme park with your friends,

getting a bonus at work, strolling with your sweetheart and an

ice cream cone, or taking a bubble bath by candlelight? “Not

much!” you say? What about the satisfaction of a delicious

home-cooked meal with family members or the delight of curling

up by a fireplace to read a great book? It’s all good! There’s

nothing better except to intentionally choose to add the deep

joy of knowing Jesus and living a life devoted to him. LaVonna

Floreal, an Olympic silver medal winner in the 100-meter

hurdles, is beginning to fully appreciate the difference between

life’s everyday pleasures and the deeper bliss of knowing Jesus.

 

LAVONNA FLOREAL PREFERS JOY

 

LaVonna is a wife and mother of two children, a fifth-grade

teacher at a Christian school, and a two-time Olympian.

LaVonna knows that she is a work-in-progress, engaged in the

ongoing process of recognizing God’s will in all aspects of her

life. Even though she does not understand all that God is

doing, she is learning how to choose joy in the journey. She

says that she is not where she would like to be in many areas,

but that she will continue to strive to know more about her

heavenly Father.

 

LaVonna loves to encourage and train young people to set

and reach their life goals, but only when she can maintain some

resemblance to a Proverbs 31 woman-in-training. To her, that

is a woman who aspires to do all she can in meeting the needs

of her family. She focuses her mind, soul, and body on honoring

the Lord by being a good wife and mother.

 

By the world’s definition of happiness—having a great family

and home, income, status, notoriety—LaVonna is happy.

However, the daily challenges that life presents—relationships,

children’s schedules, and the “what if” worry games—cause

her emotional barometer to bounce. So the Holy Spirit is teaching

her to rely on him to live a joy-filled life centered on Jesus

Christ and not on her ever-changing feelings of happiness and

unhappiness.

 

LaVonna says, “I am slowly learning to give my concerns

and worries to God, so they do not wreak havoc on my emotional

stability. I want the Holy Spirit to help me mature emotionally.

I believe that the secret to everlasting joy (instead of

temporary happiness) is choosing to be content in Christ whatever

his wishes, whatever the circumstances.”

 

What Are You Happy About? What Brings You Joy?

Mary of Bethany Sought Joy

 

Mary of Bethany sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to every

word he said. She must have felt like she was in heaven. Read

Luke 10:38–42. When do you most feel the joy of knowing

Jesus?

 

SCRIPTURE TO PONDER

 

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every

situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or

in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

(Philippians 4:12–13)

 

SUGGESTED PRAYER

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I, _________, want to learn more about the

secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well

fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I believe

your Word when it tells me that I can do everything through

you who give me strength. Today I pray that my days will be

filled with the full measure of abundant joy that only you can

give. Help me focus on you and on how much you love me, not

on things that bring me fleeting happiness.

 

So . . . What Insight, Prayer, or Action Step

Has God Laid on Your Heart Today?