Religion & Spirituality
We often confuse joy by equating it with emotions like excitement, happiness, and being cheerful. Because we tend to view joy in this shortsighted way, we get frustrated when we don't experience its comfort so easily. Depending on our circumstances to produce joy is a futile exercise. Joy feels like a dangling carrot that remains just out of our reach. "Choosing joy" isn't as easy as it sounds, no matter what those Hallmark cards try to tell us. We can't just flip a switch and choose joy, but we can set our sights and see it. Joy isn't circumstantial; it's relational. It's available now, and it's unrelated to our circumstances because it resides in God's presence. Joy is the resulting emotion of being loved by God that fuels our life with God and drives and defines everything else. The good news that brings great joy is that God is with us.