Does joy feel distant for you right now? Is life wearing you down? If so, this sermon’s for you. Because John teaches us something profound: Real joy in this life is always tied to truth. Not circumstances, not emotion, not success, but when we are walking with God’s presence, in truth. Do you know what the difference is between happiness and joy? If you’ve been at GraceLife for a while you might. Happiness is circumstantial. Happiness depends on what happens. It’s a conditional emotion. But joy is not happiness. Joy survives a bad medical report, a lost job, a catastrophic life event, or even what seems to be unanswered prayer. Happiness is fragile. But Joy isn’t. Joy endures when circumstances change, sustains you when everything falls apart. But most of us have confused the two. We talk a lot about wanting joy, but most of what we chase isn’t joy at all. It’s happiness dressed up like joy. We chase the next moment, but all it takes is one hard day for it to disappear. And then we are confused, perplexed, even bitter when it seems Joy is elusive, unattainable, or unsustainable. If you’ve lost your joy, its not because life got harder. Perhaps it’s because circumstances have tested your anchor, revealing your drift from the presence of God, from truth, or, if you were anchored to the wrong “truth” to begin with.
