So I ask you, how do we find joy in our lives?
I got to listen to a conversation last night that frustrated me and made me think last night. My friend N is in a long distance relationship and is struggling to the decision of whether or not the relationship is worth the stress of the very long, and very far distanced struggles that come with a long distance relationship. He was talking to my friend M, and they were discussing the idea of happiness and how that feeling alone should determine length and life of a romantic relationship. M had 2 quotes that struck a chord with me and were similar to this, "You are the only one that will always have your back." And then, "If you can't make yourself happy, then you can't make anyone else happy."
"Is that true?" I kept asking myself. Then I remembered a couple of things...
1. Jesus will always have my back! always.
2. Happiness is a feeling, but Joy, joy is real.
You see if a person only cares about what will make him/her happy, and happiness guides there whole life then that person will never be in a solid place. Feelings come and go. When M said that you have to do what makes you happy before you can make anyone else happy, she was trying to say that a person needs to be full, as in not lacking, before they commit to someone. The problem is that there is nothing in this realm that will fulfill a human. That is the way God intended it.
In many ways I agree with M, but it is not happiness we need as humans, it is Christ. When we allow Christ to be our identity then we will be made full and that is where we can find Joy. What is so amazing about joy? When your said, frustrated, angry, happy, ecstatic, and everything else in-between, you can still have joy through Christ.
That is something the world doesn't understand. When our identity is that of Christ and not personal happiness, we can lay parts of our lives for others, because we are fulfilled by Christ, not by pleasures of this world. and laying down your life for someone is the most beautiful display of joy in the world.
It is a beautiful morning up on the mountain top, clear sky above me, fog in the valley below, God is good. May you find joy in Him this day!
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