I used to think that happiness was the answer. I just want to be happy, I wanted everything to go smoothly so that I would be in a good mood each day and have happiness radiating in my heart. But as I grew in God’s Word, I learned that happiness is something that can come and go. What I really wanted was JOY. So I started praying for JOY.

JOY, three simple letters which make up a very impactful word, but the question is – what is JOY? The Greek word for joy is chara. Joy is the natural reaction to the work of God, whether promised or fulfilled. Joy expresses God’s kingdom—His influence on earth. Friends, we get to experience JOY every day on this earth and I am sure it will be an endless JOY festival when we’re celebrating with Jesus in Heaven. JOY is the natural reaction to the work of God, well then that’s exactly what I want to radiate – pure JOY from the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning to the moment I close my eyes and drift off to dreamland. I want JOY. When preparing for this devotion, I saw a quote by Joyce Meyer, “Now you can get unhappy, but you cannot get “unjoyed” because joy is something that God gives you.” I love this, JOY comes directly from God. He delivers us JOY each and every day because every single day we are on this earth is a gift. Yes, things are bound to make us unhappy, upset, and stressed out – but will we allow these outside circumstances to steal our JOY?

I admire folks who go through adverse situations and still keep smiling and praising God while they are going through difficult or life altering times. They still have JOY permeating through their very being and I’m so thankful that we are able to see this with our own heart and eyes. They give us hope that through it all – our JOY comes from the Lord, and circumstances and people can’t take our JOY away from us.

Prayer

Joyful, Joyful we adore thee! We thank you that you provide us with JOY every single day. Thank you for the constant reminder of JOY when we see a sunrise, a sunset, hold a newborn baby, or hear from a long lost friend – we thank you Lord for all the constant JOY reminders you send us every day. We pray Lord for unstoppable JOY. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.