“Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering, it is the presence of God.” Sam Storms
What this quote suggests is that our joy is not conditional upon our circumstances, it is conditional upon our relationship with God and of His immediate and powerful presence in our lives. Joy is one of those truths of the Holy Spirit alive and working within us, as is listed in the “Fruit of the Spirit” passage found in Galatians 5:22-23.
Joy is where God is. Joy is not found where God is not found. Happiness may be present in great supply, because happiness indicates how we are “feeling” about things at any given moment. Anyone can be happy, with or without God in their lives. But happiness is, as we all know, circumstantial and fleeting.
God doesn’t command happiness. In fact, someone who is “happy” all of the time is probably someone with a less than adequate grasp of reality.
Joy is commanded throughout God’s Word:
“Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” Psalm 97:12
“Rejoice in the Lord, all you who are righteous! For such praise from the righteous is beautiful!” Psalm 33:1
“But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” Isaiah 65:18
From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:12