23 Alphabetical Attributes of Salvation: Part Ten

 

I had to put skirts on these girls because the original picture was immodest.

10. Joy

We all desire joy in our life. We yearn for it with unceasing craving, so much that humans will do anything to obtain it. However, real joy comes from God alone that cannot be manufactured or imitated. Only Christians have real Godly joy unspeakable and full of glory:

1 Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Joy is often confused with happiness, but there is an important difference between the two. As was said, joy is from God, a blessing when we obey and serve Him. Joy is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 

Galatians 5:22, 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Happiness is not joy, it is a carnal substitute for joy. We are happy when things go well, or we get something we want, or when we celebrate certain events. We have happiness when we see loved ones or when gifts are passed around. However, joy is a spiritual state of mind that comes from obedience to God, and it cannot be duplicated. 

Also, Christians can lose their joy when they allow Satan to disrupt their walk with Christ, e.g. not praying or reading the Bible, or staying out of church. These things will lead to spiritual callousness, and it is very hard for a person to repent once they've gone so far from God. Certainly God will take them back, but it is up to that individual to change their mind and return to the Lord. I am speaking of saved people who are backslidden here. Salvation cannot be lost, but joy can. Remember that well.

Happiness can be counterfeited, joy cannot. People have counterfeit happiness when they drink a lot, or carouse around like heathens. Some cults fake happiness with the false gospel of tongues, babbling and foaming at the mouth like crazed idiots. Some fake happiness in modern church services, where CCM is the entertainment, the "preacher" is a pseudo-psychiatrist and the Gospel is rejected. There are many more examples that you can think of yourself.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and no doubt many will engage in drunken happiness when the ball is kicked off. They also feast on ungodly food and drink themselves silly with kegs of beer (so-called "tailgating"), all in the name of "happiness" that the Super Bowl is today's big event. (I often wonder why people scream at the TV set during a football game. Do they really think the players will hear them?) This is not joy, this is drunkenness, gluttony, worship of men and wanton unrestrained lusts. God doesn't approve of the drunken "Stupor" Bowl at all; in fact, He hates it.

Some Biblical examples of joy are these. Remember, only God gives true joy when we obey Him...

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Job 20:4, 5 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? 

Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

This verse is one of my personal favorites:

Psalm 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

This one verse is very plain to explain God's character. God is angry with the wicked, but if they believe on His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, He takes the anger away and replaces it with joy at salvation, in which the angels in Heaven rejoice in that a soul has been born again. We may weep during a season of trial, but when it is over, God brings the sunshine of joy in and the rains of grief are gone. There are so many examples.

If you want true joy in your life, and you desire to break away from the wickedness of the world, there is a Way, and His Name is JESUS! Believe the Gospel, in that He died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, all for you to take your sins away! Your sorrow will be turned to joy when you are born again. Please do it today, before it's too late!