Covered In Grace: January 2015

People often get joy and happiness confused or use them interchangeably. But they are different and I'll show you how.

Happiness, by definition is "to be delighted, pleased, or glad over a particular thing." Did you hear that? "...over a particular THING." Things don't last forever. That being said, happiness is based off of circumstance, situations, people, and things. There are things that make me happy such as Disney movies, spending time with friends, teaching kids, and eating chocolate. These things make me happy. If all my Disney movies were taken away, someone stole my chocolate, I didn't see my friends, and couldn't teach kids, I would not be happy. The things that make me happy, do just that--they keep me from being sad. I have a friend who calls these things, "happies". Happies are great, good things to have, but we cannot let them be the only thing that controls whether or not we are happy or sad. That is a dangerous place to be. We cannot let our happiness be dependent on something we can lose. If we do that, we are going to live a miserable, sad life. It's true. Whether that is a person, a job, a relationship, or a dream. People die, friendships end, jobs are taken away, dreams are crushed. Everything on earth is capable of being taken away from you. That's the harsh truth. Nothing here, no person, no job is going to last forever. Therefore, we MUST find our source of eternal happiness in something deeper, that's not based on or dependent on our circumstances (thank goodness). When we find this deeper source of happiness, we call it JOY.

As some think, joy isn't being upbeat and giggly all the time. That's not possible because sad, devastating, and heart breaking things happen to us all the time. These things are what take away our happiness at times. We aren't supposed to always smile and laugh and act like the world is A-Okay all the time. Jesus wept at times. His heart was saddened for people just like we are. We are told that it is okay to not always be smiling and happy in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 where it's written,

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

With that being said, it is okay and natural for us to cry, to mourn, and to be sad. However, there is only a time for that--it cannot last forever. The time to be sad will come and then it will go. Then after that time, comes the time to be happy and glad. Joy is what lasts. Happiness does not. Consistent joy comes through a relationship with Jesus and constant trust and faith in Him, HIs promises, His love, and His timing. Kay Warren says it like this,

"Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation."

WOAH. How beautiful is that? And its even more amazing and beautiful that we can obtain that joy!! Notice that definition doesn't say anything about good, happy feelings or earthly things. It's about choosing to trust God and the promise(s) that he has given to us. He promises us joy. Did you know that? Happiness is not promised, but joy is.

It's promised to us in Psalms 30:5-- "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." And in these verses:

John 15:11 "These things have I spoken to you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

Rom 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

Gal 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..."

**Joy is not circumstantial; it is providential**

If joy was not possible, God would not promise it. If joy was not possible, he would not require it. If joy was not possible, He would not have mentioned it over 200 hundred times in the Bible. As C.S. Lewis said, "Joy is the serious business of Heaven." Joy is a big deal as a Christian. There are so many things we cling to in this world; so many things that bring us pleasure, happiness, and make us feel complete. In the midst of everything the world CAN offer us, there are some things it cannot. Joy is one of them. Joy is something that can only be obtained through Jesus and his death. We lost all hope of having joy when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. So, as a result, Jesus died to return that gift to us. Happiness can easily be received and found in the world. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and other kinds of people can find happiness in life. But, they cannot find joy unless they know Jesus. This is one of many precious gifts that God presents to his children. The ability and hope and possibility of experiencing joy is a blessing and a true sign of God's love for us.

All this to say, joy is different than happiness. God does not expect us to laugh or smile when our mom, brother, sister, wife, husband, or child dies. He does not expect us to be giddy when we lose our job. He does not expect us to be happy when Satan tries to tear us down. Satan can steal your happiness, but he CANNOT steal your joy. It is something that is given to us from God, and Satan cannot take it. However, when we lose a job, a relationship, or a loved one, we are still expected to trust and praise God. Praise him through the storm because although life is rocky and seems out of control to you, God is allowing it all and controlling it all. We are expected to have confidence in Him even when have confidence in nothing else. But ultimately, nothing else matters but Jesus.

In my life I have lost my mom to cancer and one of my best friends and greatest influences to a car accident. I have been heart broken by a relationship, taken away from the college I loved, and hurt by people in ways I thought would break me. Although there were many many tears shed during each of these hardships, God remained with me. Even though I cried (very hard) and felt anger and confusion towards others, God was there. He calmed my heart and spirit. He held me and showed me that although bad things happen, there is still SO MUCH good. Because of Jesus, I was able to smile and laugh with friends and family over the memories of my mom at her funeral and the same at Virginia's. Because of Jesus, I was able to still smile at the little things in life every day even though my heart was broken. Because of Jesus, I was able to find contentment in moving colleges. And because of Jesus, I am stronger and more joyful than I ever have been. This is because of Christ, and Christ alone. He is why I still laugh out loud at stupid things, why my face lights up when Kimbrel or Hayes say a new word or sing a song, why my heart beats faster when I spend time with someone I love, why my breath is taken away when I see God's beautiful creation, and why I can still life a joyful life despite the tragedy after tragedy that has come my way. The fact that God is in control of those hard times and loses, brings me so. much. comfort. Think of it like this: The One who created each individual star, the one who created every type of flower, the one who gives breath to each person on the earth each second, is in control of my life. He can do so much and yet he still takes time to guide me through each day. That doesn't mean i'm going to always be happy, but it means that I can and will be joyful no matter what happens. People tell me "I don't know how youre still so happy and fun and bubbly and excited about things after everything you've been through." (that's super encouraging by the way) but you know what I tell them? The only thing I can tell them? I tell them that it's Jesus. Without his sacrifice and love for me, I would be a mess and I would truly be the darkest, saddest, most horrible person in the world. But God has given me grace upon grace and then some more. That is why I can still smile and be happy and joyful even when I'm sad and in the midst of a trial. That is the difference between happiness and joy-- happiness fades because it is connected to the world, and Joy lasts and cannot be taken away because it is connected to King Jesus.

The amount of joy you experience is dependent upon how much of your life you let go of and give to God. I'ts dependent upon how much faith and trust you are putting in God's hands & control instead of your own. Joy is not letting your failures and hardships and shortcomings affect your attitude day to day. Joy is still finding happiness, goodness, and light where it seems completely absent. Joy is knowing there is still goodness out there and deciding to see after it and find it. Joy can change your life so don't miss it.

Seek joy in every day. Ask God to bring you joy. He will answer your prayer, HE WILL. He may show you a sunset that's just for you or surprise you with something you weren't expecting. He loves you and wants you to experience joy in Jesus so all you have to do is seek Him and ask Him. It doesn't mean your life is free of hardships, but it means that He will provide joy and your life will be changed during them. Through him you will be able to laugh during the storms and smile even when you are at loss. Trust him and He will act.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

For Christmas this year, my 2 step brothers and step sister spent Christmas in Tuscaloosa, so our normal family of 9 Christmas morning went down to 6. My step mom also got sick on Christmas Eve so there were only 5 of us ready for Christmas. None of the kids this year opened any presents because we either were given all gift cards or used all our "present money" to purchase something big. My sister is paying for a cruise with hers, and I bought a Nikon D3100 camera with mine. That being said, we woke up later than normal on Christmas and ate breakfast, opened our stockings, and got ready to go visit my grandparents in Troy with my aunt. Usually, our 3 cousins are there as well, but they were in North Carolina, so once again, the family circle on Christmas was small. But, it was still fun! We learned to make due with the situation and have fun. We spent all afternoon playing football, Frisbee, and soccer in the yard. Then, right before we left, we decided to relive our childhood days of sliding down the front yard hill at my gparents house on cardboard boxes. THAT was disastrous but fun! We laughed way too hard and got a little too beat up, but we made fun memories. We headed home and the rest of the night we watched our favorite Christmas movies like Its A Wonderful Life and Home Alone. It was a smaller and less exciting Christmas than we have had in the past, but it was still special.

A few days after Christmas, our cousins came to visit us from North Carolina and so we took a 13 person family trip to Atmore, AL to see our great uncles and go by our great grandma's farm! Our grandparents grew up there, so we visited the family farm and relived old memories. We picked cotton, explored through the old sheds and houses, played with the neighbors dogs, and watched the gorgeous sunset before we left. It was a great after noon filled with family, jokes, sarcasm, good southern food, and more memories. I'm thankful for my family even though they drive me crazy sometimes! The Lord has blessed with so many people in my life and I often don't say thank you enough. He also has blessed us with his beautiful creation and the things around us like cotton, sunsets, animals, and so much more! I love spending time in HIs creation and need to make an effort to explore it more.