I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy…

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.”  Psalm 100:1

Is it just me that thinks there doesn’t seem to be much joy among folks today?  It seems like that everywhere you go, for instance, the grocery store, repair shops, medical offices, drug stores, etc., many people, employees and customers, are not all that friendly.  Of course, there are the exceptions.  Some folks can put on a smile regardless of their feelings, pain, or troubles that they are facing.  However, there are those who seem to be miserable and want everyone to know it.

I remember one cashier in a store that my husband and I frequented who complained about everything, and I mean everything!  We would try to put a good spin on whatever it was that was her complaint for the day, but she was just never in a good mood.  One of the sayings that one of my aunts would use now and then to describe someone who was so negative was “He (she) wouldn’t be happy as a taster in a pie factory!”  (That makes me hungry for some cherry or peach cobbler–yum!)  It seems that as good as some folks have it, they can’t seem to appreciate their blessings.  I realize that some folks go through some very tough times and find it very difficult to put on a happy face, but I am talking about the folks that constantly and consistently are so negative regardless of their circumstances.

Of course, people will never be happy, truly happy, until they come to the place where they can have a relationship with the God who made them.  That’s the purpose for which we were created, and until we accept that and acknowledge God for who He is, our Creator and the Sustainer of life, the One who blesses with all spiritual and material blessings, the One who gives life, who loves us more than anyone, and did the ultimate sacrifice to invite us into His family, to be our Father and give us a home in a perfect and beautiful environment called heaven, then we will have to settle for a life with little purpose or joy.

Unger’s Bible Dictionary defines “joy” as “a delight of the mind arising from the consideration of a present, or assured possession of  future good.”  Loved ones, friends, and possessions can bring us a temporary joy, but it never lasts.  Loved ones pass away, friends move away, and possessions wear out, decay, or lose their attraction.  The only lasting joy is that found in a relationship with the Lord.  He won’t leave us, move away, or wear out.  And for that, we can make a joyful noise–down in our hearts to stay.