Okay, what would you say? What’s the difference between joy and happiness?
Well, you’ve probably heard this: Happiness is an emotion that depends upon what happens, right? And joy, on the other hand, they say, stems from deep within our souls – joy is not affected by circumstances around us. Have you heard that? Well, hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I suppose it’s an appropriate distinction. But joy and happiness being different? I don’t think God had any such hair-splitting distinctions in mind.
Because Scripture (and you can check it out for yourself), God’s Word uses the terms interchangeably, right along with words like delight, gladness, blessed, and blissful. When you read the Bible, there doesn’t seem to be a scale of relative spiritual values applied to happiness and joy. The Bible doesn’t seem to make those distinctions. Happiness is not relegated to flesh-minded sinners, nor is joy only the emotion of heaven-bound saints. Just listen to how Psalm 68:3 puts it. It says, “May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.” Wow! Right there in the span of one verse, you’ve got four different words: gladness, rejoicing, happiness, and joyful. And God is the giver of each and every one of those emotions – he does not want us to try to label it; he just wants us to know it’s from him. Wow!
Gladness, happiness, and the fruit of the Spirit called joy… these words are synonymous in their effect and too difficult to distinguish when we experience either one, right? I mean, would you, for example, respond to the wedding of your daughter with joy or happiness? Are you happy that your friend came to know Christ or are you joyful? Is the moment of euphoric delight in worship of him on Sunday morning just a happenstance or is it heaven-sent? Friend, I wouldn’t make a big deal about splitting the differences – whenever you have a reason to smile, you can bet God is behind it, and he’s the giver of every good gift and every good emotion, from gladness to glee, from joyful to jubilant, from happiness to hallelujahs!
You know, to try and rob joy of its twin, that is happiness, is to deprive our soul of God’s feast. So I think it’s wise to seek both as part and parcel in all circumstances. When your soul is stirred by a deep contentment, be happy. But when a delightful moment strikes that is quite outside yourself, then be joyful.
And remember, when you can be joyful and glad in the midst of hardship, well, I tell you what, that makes those emotions even more heavenly and God-glorifying. I’m thinking of my friend, Renee Bondi, who, like me, is a quadriplegic. She is one of the most hands-down happiest people I know and she’s always so quick with a ready smile. I mean when you spend time with that lady and witness her joy in her wheelchair, you can tell God is behind it. And I want you to see this for yourself. Today, you just have to go to joniandfriendsradio.org and click on a video we did on her life – just spending a few minutes with Renee in her wheelchair; it will convince you that whether happy or joyful, this girl’s got it. And God is getting the glory. Click on joniandfriendsradio.org and you just might find yourself smiling and singing right along with her. And if you feel so led, drop a line to her on our “Contact Us” tab and we’ll pass it along to Renee – she’ll be delighted to know that your heart was made glad by her story. Again, that’s joniandfriendsradio.org.
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