Joy isn’t a feeling that is dependent on our circumstances. Happy people know that true happiness is a choice, not a reaction to the circumstances. It is because we don’t understand this that we sometimes tend to seek joy in the wrong places, either looking for it in a better job, or in the next pay-check or in another person who we think we can rely on. We often find that we are mistaken when we believe that happiness is reliant upon the acquisition of something new or something different.
The Bible tells us that the only source of true joy is God. He is perfectly good and can fulfill our greatest need for intimacy if we choose to have a relationship with Him. He is the one person who fully understands our need to be valued, because He created us, and He can satisfy that need perfectly. True happiness, then, is a response to experiencing this goodness of God in our lives. This is when we learn to value even the people in our lives, because they are no longer seen as means for us to acquire happiness, but fellow-beings to whom we can impart the joy that we have already received so lavishly within us.
God has created us to rejoice and be happy at all times, irrespective of the circumstances. His joy within us can make this possible. Therefore, choose this joy in every situation, so that you can be a source of joy to those around you too. Happiness is truly an inside job, which is meant to radiate outwards.
