Happy

 

..we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.  For the joy set out for him He endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2

Think for a moment about the things that make you happy....for many of us we would name our family, friends, a vacation or trip, a concert/music, food, sports; the list could go on and on.  While all of these are good and noble, they are only temporary and will only produce fleeting happiness.

Joy is completely different than happiness.  In the Biblical context, joy is not a fleeting emotion.  Joy is much deeper and actually an overall attitude or state of being rather than a feeling.

Joy lasts, while happiness is circumstantial and does not last.  Simply put, joy is only found in God and He gives it to all of His faithful followers through the Holy Spirit.

The enemy will stop at nothing to rob you of your joy, and one of his favorite deceptions is to tempt us with something that will only produce temporary happiness in the hopes that we will turn away from our loving Father.

There is a big difference between joy and happiness; hold on to your joy and live in the love, freedom, and peace that only Jesus can offer us!