"Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God."
What keeps me from sadness? What keeps the demons of depression and helplessness from devouring and feasting on my soul? I know the church answer is Jesus, but sometimes I don't believe it. I turn to other things more often, more practical things in my mind.
Surround myself with people and hugs, watch Joss Whedon shows and John Hughes movies, drown my thoughts out with music, and bury all the feelings of sadness under a temporary avalanche of "happiness". Anything that injects an immediate dose of laughter into my veins becomes heroin.
Or I go the opposite direction. I isolate myself from people, shut down and don't talk, avoid things that make me "happy", read depressing quotes and write eulogies, and embrace the sadness wholeheartedly without sense. Neither of these help in the long-term, but they both offer immediate comfort.
God doesn't promise immediate comfort, so I'm tempted to just ignore Him when I'm sad. Immediate comfort leads to happiness, but God promises me joy. Joy and happiness are often touted as the same thing, but even their very essence is different.
Happiness looks like this-
1) My circumstances are good so
2) My life is good so
3) I'm good
It's entirely based on changeable circumstances.
Joy looks like this-
1) My circumstances are bad so
2) My life sucks BUT
3) GOD IS STILL GOOD so
4) I'm good
Joy is based entirely on the Unchangeable God.
{Miyah Faith}
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