Joy vs. Happiness Part 2

Joy vs. Happiness Pt. 2

James 1:2 NLT

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

When I was younger and faced my challenges of sickle cell I never thought it was a blessing, All I could see was the curse of it, not being able to do what my friends could do, as far as playing sports, being sick and in the hospital all the time, due to challenges from pneumonia, and other take you out of here sicknesses due to sickle cell. I can remember as a child, laying in my bed at the hospital in a plastic bubble and hearing very faintly through the plastic the Doctors telling my mother to have our pastor come in and read me my last rites, read me my last rites? What does that even mean? (Show the definition to last rites) Are you crazy! I don’t want to die! I want to live! Anyway fast forward I’m a tween and I have found my calling! It’s basketball and baseball, but mainly basketball, but the doctor tells my mom, it could cause issues if I play, but do you think I cared.... No! I have to play, it brings me happiness! So I play all the time and I have sickle cell crisis all the time. But I don’r care, because I a so happy when I get to play and I was actually pretty good to, playing all for my schools team, Point Guard JV Co-Capt. and 6th man Varsity Guard (As a freshman) I was happy! I couldn’t of been more happier! Until one Nov. day all the doctors warnings came to a head… I had a stroke, and was closer to death then I had ever been before. (Explain what happens when you have a stroke to your neurological system) as a teenager I realized all the fancy calligraphy writing I learned over the years was gone out the window and now I was writing like a 3 year old! my whole left side of my face was drooping and I had lost feeling in my left arm and left leg. I was done, no more organized basketball, no basketball camps, no more basketball dreams.... This was not fair! My whole life was done. God why do you hate me? Why did you give this to me? I haven’t done anything to deserve this! All I did was be born.. ohh and by the way… I didn’t ask to be that! Complete unhappiness surrounded me for weeks on in.

So what is James talking about! When troubles come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy! That’s absurd! But wait, is it?

Let’s really examine what he is saying here in this verse about joy.

James is pointing out the importance of Joy in that it is the source to dispel gloom and cause cheer. Wait minister didn’t you say last week that happiness and joy were different? I did and here is what makes them different. Joy is not a feeling like happiness or sadness, but it is a source deep with in the believer. This is why we say we are happy or sad but never say I am Joy. So we can be filled with God’s Joy because of God’s promises and the hope we have with in Him. Joy is an attitude we adopt not because of circumstances we face. But what we can face in our circumstances when we are full of God’s Joy. So James is telling us that the greek word Chara or Joy is the source, this not emotions. Now can you use Joy as an emotional expression? Absolutely! But in this context it is not. It is a physical thing placed with in us by the Holy Spirit. So, Joy isn’t the absence of sadness—it’s the presence of the Holy Spirit. And although the Holy Spirit produces joy within us, He often does so by humbling us so that we would take our eyes off ourselves and fix our eyes on Christ.

Hence James point. My eyes were fixed on what was best for me. If you notice when I told my basketball story, I kept emphasizing me. My happiness, my whole life. It was never Chara - Full of Joy as the source.

Years later I came into a mature place in my walk with Christ and I began to ask God to change my outlook on my life and He did he put Chara in the front of my life. Interestingly enough my life got better, even with the challenges I face, It got better and God’s completeness helped me see that His plan is so much better then mine and that I can have true happiness or Chara - Joy as a source even when life seems unfair I can hold on to God’s promises and hopes.

So

James 1:2 NLT

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

Don’t focus on your emotional feelings, focus on what has God promised you? This is a great opportunity not just for Joy but great Joy! Chara!

God bless.