ICS Daily Devotions
Joy Is Not Happiness

Galatians 5:22-25 (NKJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

There is a huge difference between happiness and joy. As Christians, we must not take it for granted that joy belongs to us and it will sustain us in any situation in life.

Joy, or “chara” in Greek, describes a feeling of inner gladness, delight or rejoicing. In the New Testament, joy virtually always signifies a feeling of “happiness” that is based on spiritual realities and independent of circumstances. Joy is a deep-seated pleasure—a depth of assurance and confidence that ignites a cheerful heart, which in turn leads to cheerful behaviour. Joy is not an experience that comes from favourable circumstances, but God’s gift to believers. Joy is a part of God’s very essence and His Spirit manifests this supernatural joy in His children. It is the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the heart of someone who knows all is well between himself and the Lord.

Both the Apostle Paul and Jesus gave us a very good comparison between the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and the work of the flesh. If we abide in the vine, we will bear much fruit. Likewise, when we walk in Spirit, we will witness the bearing of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Therefore, we are asked to abide in Christ and walk in the Spirit. There is a freedom for us to choose to live in victory with the help of the Holy Spirit and the new creation realities.

However, if our mind is not renewed by the Word of God, it is easy to revert to carnality or listen to the flesh whenever we are affected by the world through its passions and desires stoked by our pride.

Galatians 5:6 (NKJV) Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

For instance, we have a tendency to compare our lives with others’. It is also easy for us to become proud, which causes us to be conceited and provoke one another. If happiness is measured by the success of someone in the corporate world, there should a lot of happy people in affluent cities. However, that is not the case because the problem with happiness is that it is subject to the environment, and both happiness and peace can quickly disappear when any factor that we measure happiness by changes.

Sermon Series: Joy – The Fruit of the Holy Spirit