But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5: 22-23a

Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7

I have recently had difficulty defining the word JOY, recently meaning in older adulthood. As a younger person, I found joy in new clothes, new toys, and my friends. In my teen years, joy usually meant a new boyfriend and when I became an adult, the birth of a child brought my most joy-filled moment. And, of course, the joy of becoming a grandparent probably eclipsed them all.

Ken and I are just getting our strength back from a bout with influenza…at this age, you really feel the aftereffects. We find joy at this moment in being able to breathe, eat a decent meal, and take a short walk outside. These four walls are starting to close in upon us. Finding a few daffodils budding on my walk around the yard was definitely in the joy column. And my ever-faithful Lenten roses didn’t let me down. I can always count on uncovering a few buds in February. JOY!

But I still haven’t solved the mystery of defining a simple little three-letter word, JOY. I turned to online dictionaries and found; “the emotion of pleasure and happiness” or “a source of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated,” and finally, “choosing to respond to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction.”   

On Sunday morning, Pastor Dennis provided another perspective on the word JOY. Now understand, this wasn’t the point of his sermon

 but it certainly struck me as being an appropriate response to my quest for a definition. His subject was the story of Noah, the building of the ark, gathering of the animals, etc. I have often pondered life on an ark for seemingly unending months with countless animals, limited food supply, no sanitary facilities, and a list of inconveniences that just keep going. But today, because my topic is the word joy, my mind immediately traveled to the scene of pure JOY Noah and his family must have felt when they were able to walk off that ark and breathe fresh air again. That thought gave a whole new meaning to my word for the week.  

The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about the conditions on that ark. We can only imagine. But it does tell us this:

So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives left the boat….then Noah built an altar to the Lord and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice…Genesis 8:18-21

I think Noah and his family found their soul-deep JOY in the presence of the Lord. And that is where we find it as well. Earthly pleasures may bring us happiness for the moment, but joy is not just any emotion. It is a state of being in close communion with the Trinity, of always knowing that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit surround us, encompass us, and nourish us. It’s that pure peace and contentment in the knowledge that they are in control and whatever happens here, they have prepared a place for us in heaven. That is my JOY!

Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in every situation. Rick Warren

So I challenge you during this Lenten season to intentionally make a habit of turning everything in your life over to God. Let Him sweat the small stuff. Let Him dig you out of your deepest pit. Let Him instill pure JOY down deep in your soul. And when you do, the love we talked about last week becomes second nature.

When Joy is a habit, Love is a reflex. Bob Goff