I Choose Joy

Psalm 65:8

Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.

I have been thinking a lot about joy lately. It is so discouraging at times with all the bad news in the world to truly be happy. Yet, joy and happiness are not synonymous. To me happiness is a state of emotion and is very dependent on what is going on in my world at that point in time. Joy though is a state of being. I choose to be joyful regardless of my circumstances.

Paul in Philippians discusses his circumstances and the fact that he was hard pressed to decide which was better – to be present in this world or to be present with the Lord. He counted it all joy even though at the time he was imprisoned. I don’t think Paul even thought about his circumstances. I think all he thought about was demonstrating the joy that comes from knowing Christ. Joy doesn’t come from us – it comes from Christ living in us and the desire to serve Him in the furtherance of His kingdom.

Joy then can be a constant. It does not come and go like happiness. If we are truly faithful about our walk with God and we press on regardless of our temporal circumstances – we can know true joy. But, what happens when we are not faithful?

When I have been unfaithful to God a dry spirit indwells me. Nothing brings that wellspring within me that causes a song to break forth in the morning. But, our God, the Father of all joy, loved me enough to forgive my unfaithfulness and set my feet aright on the path once again. The confession of sin and the repentance that followed allowed the Spirit of God to bring a song of joy to my heart again. Praise His faithfulness.

My name, Carol, means “song of joy”. When my parents named me that, I doubt that they knew its meaning. But, as I ponder it, I think that God has used my name to remind me of His faithfulness to me. I too can be a song of joy because of His great love toward me. May I truly walk in faithfulness and abound in His goodness and joy as I seek to serve Him.