Joy in the Morning

     Our 11 month Cocker Spaniel is full of joy in the morning. When she gets up and sees us, it's as though she's been given a year's supply of doggie treats. She dances and wiggles and cries "hello"! Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Our cocker has a mind full of happiness. 

    I, on the other hand, don't always exhibit the joy that I should, especially in the morning. I read a note from Dr. Charles Stanley, saying that "comfort" can become as much a sin as the need for success or money. I had never considered that idea. Could I seek comfort to the point where it becomes a sin? Thinking about times I didn't step out in faith to accomplish a task I knew God wanted me to do, because it made me feel "uncomfortable," now made sense. 

    Sometimes I think I confuse "joy" with "happiness." A woman in one of my past Bible study groups gave me the following acronym for "joy": Jesus Others You. Happiness is all about me, but joy is from the Lord and can be found regardless of the circumstances. But I have to deal with my need to be comfortable before I can put others, including Jesus, before me. 

    In Psalm 30:4-5, King David makes this claim: "Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning." Like with my dog, joy does come with the morning, but at night, she is one cranky dog. We call her, "cranky pants" at night. We even had the vet check her for diabetes as her behavior at night is the complete opposite of her morning persona. 

    But I think my dog isn't comfortable at night, she's tired, thus cranky. This is the same with me, rather than choosing joy, I am letting my emotions choose my feelings and reactions. This statement on the website, www.compassion.com, sums up where our joy and comfort should come from, "Happiness doesn't bring joy, and joy isn't the byproduct of happiness...Joy is a fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [of God], and when we find joy it's infused with comfort and wrapped in peace. It's an attitude of the heart and spirit, often synonymous with but not limited to following Christ Jesus and pursuing a Christian life." 

    We receive true joy from the Holy Spirit of God, whom we are given once we choose Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Receiving the Holy Spirit is a gift from God at the time of our salvation, the time when we ask God to forgive us from our sins, tell Him we believe in Him and His Son, we believe He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for all sin, and rose from the dead overcoming all death and bringing us eternal life in and through Him.

    Isaiah 51:12-13 is a great reminder with all the things today that can steal our joy, "I [LORD], even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?" We can trust God to overcome all our oppressors, and not allow them to take our God-given joy. So does that mean we won't experience "oppressors" as Christians? No, it means our God is bigger than all our enemies and will go with us through our trials, to bring us joy in the morning. 

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.