Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.\u00a0
Psalm 43:4<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all know that kind of refreshing delight, what the Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards called a “sweetness. that can fill us at times with pleasure. The joy may be brief or sustained, subtle or overwhelming. Its immediate source may be a thought, a sight, a sound, a touch. Whatever kind it is, we all agree that joy is desirable, a great good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how does this joy differ from happiness? Some would say it’s simply a matter of intensity; others would claim it depends on the source. I think, however, that the two experiences are in different categories altogether, though they certainly can come to us at the same time, and are often related. The briefest definition I could offer is this: Joy is the sense of delight that arises within us in the presence of someone or something we love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Happiness is a condition or state of being, joy is a \u2018sense\u2019. Edwards called it, in the language of his day, an \u2018affection\u2019. To put it another way, joy is a response rather than a state of being. It depends, not on our acquisition of some. thing, but rather on our encounter with something. Happiness possesses, joy appreciates; happiness grasps, joy beholds. As theologian Karl Barth once observed, “Joy is really the simplest form of gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This understanding of joy is found throughout the Bible. Joy is the appreciative response, for example, of a father to the goodness of wisdom he finds in his son (Proverbs 15:20). It’s the exultation of a righteous person over the righteous reign of justice in the land (Proverbs 21:15). It’s the delight taken by a citizen of Jerusalem in the sight of his native city’s beauty (Psalm 48:1-2). In each of these cases, joy is the sense of delight arising in these people in the presence of someone or something they love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is present with you right now! What \u2018sense\u2019 are you experiencing in that knowledge?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.\u00a0Psalm 43:4 We all know that kind of refreshing delight, what the Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards called a “sweetness. that can fill us at times … Continue reading