Situations and everyday living can turn quickly.

Hi everyone. I’m Sherry Douglas with Heart-Song. As I record this, it’s pouring rain. The sky is dreary and gray. It made me think about how life mimics weather sometimes. One day it can be bright with sunshine, with everything going well, and the next can be troublesome, with many concerns. That is the reality of life, isn’t it? Situations and everyday living can turn quickly without warning, sometimes yanking our happiness right along with it.

Sometimes we equate happiness and joy, but in our guts, I think we know they are different. Happiness is temporary and is usually dependent upon our experiences or circumstances. We may feel happy when we’ve been able to do something for ourselves that we wanted or needed – like buying a new car. Or, we may feel happy when we receive a great score on school assignments or received a promotion at work. Many years ago, we lived in an old home that needed a lot of improvements. For weeks, as I walked through the finished living area to go up upstairs, I felt happiness inside. Sometimes I smiled just because it felt so good. And then one day, I realized it wasn’t there anymore. It had been a few days since I had experienced that pleased feeling when walking through it. The happiness I felt was a temporary feeling based upon circumstances.

Happiness is important, but it’s not joy. Joy is being consciously aware that God is at work in our lives. We can choose joy through the awesome times and the difficult times. We will continue to have trials and difficulties, yet we can be hopeful in what He is doing. The suffering or challenging times can help us gain insights perhaps we weren’t seeing before, and can draw us closer to the Lord and to others. We can grow spiritually and emotionally even in the darkest hours. Happiness is good, but joy is wonderful.

Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” We can choose to rejoice even when it’s pouring rain – both outside and within our life circumstances. Live the way you want to be remembered!