Men talk about happiness and perhaps we ought to define happiness, at least in a very simple way, happiness is an attitude of satisfaction or delight based upon some present circumstance. Happiness is related to happenings. Happiness is related to happenstance. Happiness is related to hap which is a word that basically conveys the idea of chance. Happiness is that which you really can't plan and program, it may happen, it may not happen and it seems so elusive. But it is related to the delight or the satisfaction that is tied to an occasional happening, a chance circumstance. And that's the best that men can do.
On the other hand, when we talk about joy we're not talking about something that's related to chance at all. We're not talking about something that's related to circumstances at all. We're talking about a deep down confidence that all is well, no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the difficulty, no matter what the problem. And that's very different from happiness. Joy, to be understood in a biblical sense, must be understood to be related to God. It must be understood to be that which becomes yours in Christ. It must be understood to be a permanent possession of every believer, not some whimsical delight that comes and goes as chance may offer it opportunity. We're talking about joy, much much different than happiness.
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