Take Joy!

I read a quote today by Adela Rogers St. Johns that made me think about the difference between happiness and joy.  She said,    
"Joy seems to me a step beyond happiness--happiness is a sort of atmosphere you can live in sometimes when you're lucky.  Joy is a light that fills you with hope and faith and love."  --Adela Rogers St. Johns.

Our culture markets Christmas as a time when we are supposed to be happy.  As Christians we often get caught up in the expectation, and feel that something is amiss if we can't 'get that feeling'.  Let's face it folks, sometimes Christmas is not a happy time.  There are some that are facing Christmas alone in a nursing home, or are experiencing a recent bereavement.  Some have children in harm's way, either in the military or because of addiction.  There are those experiencing cancer, or caregivers who are simply overwhelmed.  Some are lonely, some are scared, some are unemployed.  For them, Christmas this year probably won't be a happy time...BUT Christmas can still be a time for great joy.

Happiness is an emotion, and as such it is fleeting.  But joy is made of stronger stuff...rooted in hope in a God that loves us through good times and bad, through thick and thin.  His love sustains us, this hope in a God so merciful that He sent His Son to die for our sin.  When I am happy or sad, I am paying attention to myself...my feelings, my circumstances, my emotions.  But when I take my eyes off of myself and turn and focus on God, great joy awaits and is there for the taking.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." (John 16:20)

I hope this Christmas is a happy time for you, a time of fellowship and refreshment with family and friends.  But if this is a hard Christmas for you....choose to take JOY!   DLB