 Yes there is my friend! Happiness is surely a temporal condition, while joy is a long-term experienced emotion that only comes from having the hope of salvation in eternal life (1 Peter 1:8-9). So how do we define joy as described in the scripture? John Piper defines it like this, “Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”(DesiringGod.org, How Do You Define Joy)? Since it allows us to view Christ in the world around us as well as applying life to God’s Word, we have greater insight on who He is and what He has done. As a believer, we can now see how he cares for even the sparrows of the air by bringing about the seasons and migration patterns. We can see how beautiful God’s creations are because we do not need proof that they were created rather than just evolved. Knowing the Joy of the Lord is knowing everything is in God’s hands. This includes your salvation, spiritual walk, future, and calling on your life. Even mourning is seen different in the eyes of a born-again believer because we have a definite plan of where we are heading after this life. I would not ever want to live this life without the joy of the Lord ever again and neither should you. Is it possible to be sad and have joy? Of course because joy is not dependent upon the mood we are in. There are those suffering with some depression, anxiety, worry, stress, and other mental conditions that all have joy in their life. Now, here at SCM we believe that God can also heal/deliver us from those afflictions. What those conditions don’t change is the joy that we have in our hearts because God has placed it there. Never let a feeling or emotion decide your fate. We as Christians often go through seasons, many times because God is testing us or trying to teach us a spiritual principle in our life. Sometimes we go through struggles because we made the mistakes that got us there and want God to bail us out (James 1:2-3). Many of the most successful men business and spiritually have been slow the make decisions where emotion is involved. We most certainly always make great buying decisions when we sleep on it and return the next day. This takes the emotion farther away from the realities of the purchase. We must do the same with our emotions on other decisions as well. Do not let a moment of discouragement convince you that God isn’t real or that your life isn’t worth living. These are lies of the enemy and surely place in your mind to only deceive you. We must remember that the soul only resides in the body and is separate even though it is within us. I pray that every day you can experience the joy of the Lord in your soul. If you haven’t made the decision yet to gain that joy by receiving salvation today, we encourage you to visit our page What Is The Gospel? May the joy of the Lord be your strength today (Nehemiah 8:10)!  1 Peter 1:8-9 (KJV) 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. James 1:2-3 (KJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. Romans 15:13 (KJV) 13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Nehemiah 8:10 (KJV) 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
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