Difference Between Joy And Happiness

What I write here can be summarised in 1 Peter 1 v 3-9. (I have copied and pasted this passage at the very bottom of this post, please read it after reading this post). 

Difference Between Joy and Happiness.

Happiness  is a superficial "feel good" emotion based on circumstances in life.  You can be happy one moment because things are good around you and the next feel sad because something has "happened" to disturb your happy feeling. ie a "happening" has happened to cause un"happiness".  God wants us to be blessed - not happy.  Of course if we are blessed we will "feel" happy also, but not ALL the time and we should not be seeking happiness anyway, but seeking first God's Kingdom!

The sermon on the mount was full of instructions on how to be blessed.  The secret of blessedness and/or joy is not dependant on the circumstances but on being in the condition and position of being in God's Will and submitted to God.

It is God's Will that we be full of joy unspeakable full of Glory. Another place it says that the Spirit of Glory and of Jesus will rest upon you.  It is always at the time of hardship for the Christian that he/she experiences the fullness of that joy.  Jesus said that "my food is to do the Will of Him who sent me" In other words, Jesus did not need to be sustained by the things of this earth. What sustained Jesus and gave Him joy was to be in the centre of God's Will and do what His Father wanted.  

We read of the various forms of Glory that Paul experienced. It was always experienced in the midst of persecution, hardship and trial. Like when he was imprisoned in Philippi, he and Silas sang for joy in the prison while in the stocks.

James says "consider it all joy, when you suffer different trials"

God has not promised us happiness every day, because trials will come. Circumstances may upset our "feel good" feelings, but guess what, we have something deeper than those superficial feelings. We have the joy of The Lord!  Hallelujah. If we are committed to serving Him and His kingdom as number one in our life's priorities we can be sure of God's joy. Jesus said that we would know his joy and that joy would remain, whether we feel "temporarily" happy or not.

The effect of that joy is revealed every time we do something for The Lord. He awakens the joy in us through the Holy Spirit. "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy ......",     "the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit".

It is difficult to experience that joy as a happy feeling if we are going through a desert experience in our life where nothing much seems to be happening, but in little ways we see God's hand at work in our life and every time we do, joy rises up in our souls, like the disciples after they were sent out by Jesus two by two. They came back rejoicing because they saw God at work. Jesus said do not rejoice at that, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven.  Paul states that we should rejoice in The Lord always whether we "feel" like it or not, because God is in control. He is on the throne and your names are written in Heaven.

Sometimes we become saddened because the accuser of the brethren tries to convince us that we are not saved because he knows that the joy of The Lord (working via the joy of our salvation) is our strength. If  the accuser can make us doubt those things, which our faith rests upon, he can sadden our hearts for a time; but as soon as we come through those doubts the sadness is replaced by the joy springing up from DEEP within. Our JOY is rooted DEEP within - it is not superficial.

Regarding grieving etc, it is sometimes scriptural to suffer these things for a time. Blessed are those who MOURN, for they shall be comforted. Read also James 4  7-10 especially verse 9. It says that we should mourn and weep and let out laughter be turned into mourning and our joy into gloom. Clearly it is talking about superficial joy (or happiness) which is the result of wrong living, but the point is that sometimes we need to enter into a time of gloom for us to be changed from one degree of  Glory to another.

So don't reproach yourself for not always being happy. It could be God's way of increasing HIS joy in you and removing worldly happiness.

Read Romans 9 verse 2.  Paul (who knew all about God's joy and preached the importance of rejoicing) told how he had sorrow and continual grief in his heart over the state of the Jewish people. Was he happy? No.  Was he joyful? Yes! His sorrow was designed by The Holy Spirit to get Paul praying. If you have grief it is also designed to get you praying.

Besides, happiness is usually related to selfishness and self-seeking, but joy is related to self sacrifice and giving. The believer should lay down their lives as a living sacrifice to serve God and not themselves.

1 Peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.