Joyjoyjoy

So, this was a Buzz post, and I did warn you that it may turn into a blog post in the near future. Well..here it is. This is something I've been thinking about for a while...basically, a very substantial reason (for me, at least) to always have joy, no matter what else is happening. Let's talk about it.

First, I want to distinguish between two very similar things, in order to clarify: joy and happiness. As one of my friends pointed out..how is it possible to have joy all the time, even when something really tragic happens? That's where these definitions are helpful.

I define happiness as sort of a surface-level emotion. You can be happy for one moment, but if something bad happens, it can change, and you can be sad. Etc.

On the other hand, in my mind, joy is deeper than that. It's more than a quickly-changing emotion. It's an underlying reason to be thankful. A reason to live, maybe?

Okay. That was helpful. I like definitions.

The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 to "be joyful always." In order to be joyful always, we need something to be joyful about, right? Right. And in order to to be joyful always, that thing we're joyful about needs to be always there, right? Right. Okay.

When I really think about it, God is the only thing that is always there and will never disappear. More specifically, His two biggest blessings: love and salvation.

It's so crazy to think that the Creator of the universe, the King of the world, and the One who knows your every awful thought and secret sin...loves you. He doesn't just tolerate you. Doesn't just kind of like you. He loves you. Seriously, you have no idea. Think about the person you love most in the world, and multiply that by a hundred. He's crazy about you. So, that's reason enough to be joyful. But God is so cool, He throws in another reason...

It Is Well With My Soul is one of my favorite hymns. I normally don't like hymns, actually, but I love this one. One of the verses reads,

"My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"

Anddd that pretty much sums up the point about salvation. Just like you have no idea how much God loves you, you probably don't have any idea how many times you've sinned..or are going to continue to sin. But you know what? All of them were nailed to the cross right next to the God who loves you.

And that's a reason to be joyful.