Joy

"But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ..." Galatians 5:22-23

The second attribute of the fruit of The Spirit is 'joy'. This is different from happiness. Joy is a gladness of the heart. It is more of a cheerfulness, a constant delight in The Lord. It is a good feeling based upon unchanging divine promise. It is a sense of well-being experienced by one who knows that all is well between himself and The Lord.

Joy is something that the world can't give you, and the world can't take it away from you. It is of God and it is from God. It is not the result of favorable circumstances. In fact, it is possible to have joy in the mist of difficult or negative circumstances.

Joy is a gift from God that causes one to delight in the blessings which they have already received. That is why we can sing, "Joy to the world, The Lord is come ..."

One of the radio stations in Los Angeles used to say that their call letters, KJLH, stood for the Kindness, Joy, Love, & Happiness, which they exuded. We should all be so blessed as to do the same.