Where Does Your Joy Come From?

February 06, 2018 | By Chuck

We love to feel joy and express that joy. We seem to always be looking for the next reason to feel and express joy. If our team wins we are overcome with joy. When our child succeeds we are quick to shout with joy. Life also brings circumstances that appear to steal our joy. At certain times our joy grows strangely silent. So, where does your joy come from? Sadly, our joy seems to come and go and not be a constant presence in our lives. You may think that's normal and the way it is with everyone. That's not true. It wasn't true for the apostle Paul whose joy was a consistent and constant presence in his everyday life, no matter what. The secret is, Paul's joy didn't come from outward circumstances. When your joy comes from outward circumstances it has a tendency to be up one day and down the next depending on what's going on at the time. Paul's joy was consistent and constant everyday no matter his circumstances because his joy came from the Lord. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice"(Phil.4:4).