JOY – THE MISSING LINK

And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses” – Luke 12:15 (NKJV)

The greatest longing or fondest wish of many people is financial security, health, power, or the achievement of an ambition. Others would conclude that what is most desired in life is happiness. Humanity is driven largely by necessity and survival, as well as the craving for happiness. A common but false assumption is that happiness depends upon money and material accumulation, the obsessive collection of toys, gadgets, and appliances, and the avid consumption of fads and fashion.

Others hunt for happiness in possessions, properties, positions, popularity, and pleasure. As important as they are, none of these guarantees happiness. In this age of sensation, people want louder music some of which is scarcely worth hearing, faster cars going nowhere, and stronger hallucinogenic substances. Human desires are insatiable. Sensation is soon exhausted, and like a cumulative drug, requires heavier doses until finally the power to respond to stimulation is saturated. The aftermath: spiritual undernourishment, discontent, weariness, and sometimes suicide. What they really need far surpasses the hysteria of happiness or temporal pleasures. The missing link is JOY.

Joy depends not upon noise, but upon quietness; not upon speed, but upon peace; not upon feeling ‘high’ but upon sitting with Christ on high. Joy involves something deeper, richer, more satisfying, more spiritual, and therefore longer lasting. Looking at people today, it is obvious that many are neither happy nor joyful. Underneath their superficial smiles, hollow laughter, and vulgar jokes, many are oppressed by the weary weight of this worrisome world. Life is robbed of much of its spontaneity by a deep undercurrent of sadness. Happiness is not found in things that corrode and rust. Our hunger is for something more fundamental, found in the Core of our Creator, part of His very Breath – the Joy of the Lord.