Joie de Vivre

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was becoming acutely aware of the distinction between joy and happiness.

If you ask the Dictionary, it says:

joy: [joi] n.: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation

dictionary.com

Sounds like they are interchangeable, but I’m not sure that’s what I am currently observing.

The rather obvious difference (if someone is paying attention) is that joy is a persistent, inner feeling that lingers despite circumstances. Happiness is an ephemeral response to something external. It makes me happy to hear my young adult boys (men, really) ribbing each other through their laughter when they are all piled on our couch. I mean, cloud-nine kind of happy!

Joy, once obtained (and further cultivated), is present regardless of circumstances or current emotion.

Joy sustains when happiness is fleeting…

I have a friend I’ve known since the 7th grade. She lost her mom two weeks ago, and I was astounded at her attitude about it on social media.

Now, I realize that social media is just the highlight reel of a life, but in her post about her mom, who she was very close to, she emanated JOY. She was going to miss her mom terribly, of course, but she had peace in that terrible storm, and it was obvious.

This afternoon, I saw her post that her daddy passed away today, just two weeks after losing her mom. She said in her post about her dad, “My daddy said goodbye to all of us and is resting now. I am at a loss for words losing both my parents so quickly, but I know God has a plan! I’m thankful! I’m grateful! Prayers for strength. I love you, Daddy!”

Joy doesn’t mean nothing hurts. It just means nothing can keep you down.

Read that again.

When I think of the joie de vivre, I think of enjoying every minute of life, savoring it to its fullest. I’m beginning to realize that I can’t do that if my aim is to be happy.

What does the word “ENjoy” mean? Break it down. It’s got to mean more than just loving life. We all want to enjoy this life, to enjoy what the Father has given us (all good things!) But life is illustrated in a drawing I saw of Moses’ mother sending her 3-month-old child in a homemade boat down the Nile River. In this visual representation, she said in prayer to God as she let her young son go, “I trust you. But I hate this.” We don’t – we can’t – love everything about this life.

The prefix “en” comes from the Greek and literally means “in” or “within”. The Oxford’s Learner’s Dictionaries say it means, “to put into the thing or condition mentioned.” ENjoy quite literally means to put joy WITHIN.

So happiness depends on external circumstances; joy comes from within. But how does this happen? It doesn’t seem to be automatic.

Well, it’s intentional, for one thing. This goes so much against our human nature, it’s not even funny. Our human nature would have us follow every whim of our own emotion, which is based on the ever-changing wind of our life.

No thanks.

The Scriptures give a pretty clear instruction on this point. And since all of it comes from and reflects the very nature of God Himself, it’s probably a reliable source. 😉

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Rejoice” simply means to TAKE JOY IN, to have or possess joy. Uh, that sounds like an imperative to me. Something you and I just need to DO. I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out that obtaining joy is directly tied to giving thanks (gratitude) right here, too.

The order given makes sense too, for the Christian. Start internally:

• Have joy, then
• Talk to the Father (communion, prayer), then
• Give thanks
• Repeat consistently (this one is implied by the action of the verbs)

I am certainly not saying you have to have joy before you can communicate in your relationship with the Father. Not at all. This is assuming you already have that relationship. Joy is not a prerequisite; it’s just that it gives you the proper perspective when going to Him.

Paul gives more clarity in his second letter to the Corinthians when, speaking of a thorn in his flesh given to keep him from becoming full of himself, he says:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Paul says he deliberately chooses to boast in his weaknesses, in insults, hardships, etc. because – watch this – it takes the focus off him and puts it on Christ. It shows the power of Christ (instead of his own strength) both in his eyes and in the eyes of others watching him go through those things. This is the impact of a proper perspective.

So for brevity’s sake, I think I’m going to break this one down over several posts. These are the areas in which I’m noticing joy comes from:

1. choosing the right perspective to instill true joy (take the focus off me)

2. music: focusing on someone other than me

3. time spent helping others (again, takes the focus off me)

4. yes, material things, but not idolizing them; being grateful for them instead

Seems like there’s a consistent theme running through these; might do me well to camp on each one for a bit. As I think of others, I’ll probably come edit this list as well, but this is what I’m seeing so far.

I want to look at each one more deeply so they each more deeply reside in me.