happiness vs. joy

True Joy is found in Christ alone.

This brings me back to the book of Ecclesiastes. Happiness – it’s an emotion, and just like all other emotions, it’s very temporary. What makes me happy? Lots of things! I’m not about to tell you that being ‘happy’ is wrong or pointless or anything like that... because being happy is great! We all want to be happy. However; what are we seeking out in order to fulfill our desire to be happy? And when will we realize that happiness is simply a temporary emotion, while Joy is a state of the heart...

“...yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

As I grow up, I find myself seeking out that ‘happiness’ in life. There are so many things I want out of life, which aren’t wrong, but if I’m using them to be happy... is that okay? The problem here is.. I think I’ve been confusing happiness with joy. I’ve been searching for JOY. The kind that doesn’t fade away when challenges come your way, the kind that is contagious and people can sense it when you walk into a room, I’ve been looking for that joy that comes from my heart... so no, I don’t think it’s wrong to be seeking out certain things in life in order to be happy... but remember, happiness isn’t permanent... it can fade away

Just as the verse in Ecclesiastes says, nothing was gained under the sun – it was all a chasing after the wind... If I’m looking for joy in things that will eventually fade away, in things that don’t truly matter... I’m not going to find it. Joy doesn’t fade, it comes from within. My happiness – that emotion – sure, it can be satisfied by things on this earth and things in this life and that’s okay! But when those things disappear... so does the happiness. The JOY I’ve found isn’t something that can disappear so easily. It’s not rooted in earthly things, it’s not determined by possessions, it’s found in Christ Alone. He’s it. He is my Joy.