“Be joyful always.” 2 Thessalonians 5:17.
It is one of my favorite verses. It seems so simple and yet I am still trying to figure out what it means. How am I supposed to be joyful always? Life is not always perfect. I can’t always have a smile on my face. So what kind of joy is it?
It is easy to be joyful when everything is going smoothly, but I believe that type of joy should actually be called happiness. Happiness is easy to have when things are running smoothly. Happiness is one of the outward expressions of joy. I think joy can actually be harder to have when everything is going smoothly. Joy is remembering what God has done for us and being content with it. In any situation: good or bad. In a good situation it is easy to be happy with what God has given us but we always seem to forget that He is the one who gave it to us. We forget what he gave up for us and lose the joy we have in Him. Of course this is not always the case.
In bad situations when we lose everything there is only one place we can turn to. To an extent it can be easier to take joy in Christ when we are put in a place where He is all we have. Joy is not a feeling it is a choice that we make. If you lost everything would you be able to say, “I am content with my savior.”? One day He will be all we have. Will we be disappointed when we get there?
1 Peter 1:8-9
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
