Joy is not the opposite of sadness. It is a separate state of self-awareness. There is the joy spoken about by the world meaning to be happy. That kind of happiness comes from possessing things or doing things. According to our text, joy is the second listed state of being after love when the Holy Spirit is operative.
This joy is of the spirit. It is an outgrowth from interacting with God’s Holy Spirit. It is a type of contentment in spite of what else may be happening in a person’s life. The soldier that is caged as a POW and suffering a variety of indignities and tortures may still have joy by concentrating on his salvation experience instead of the horrendous treatment he has been receiving. To the other hand, a prosperous citizen may have every reason to declare that he has a great life. Still, his soul may be troubled, experiencing unrest and dissatisfaction with what he is enjoining in life.
Not all believers can say they have joy. To experience this type of joy, the believer must have a deep appreciation for his own salvation; for what Christ did on the cross and through his resurrection. The believer maintains an historical consciousness of what his life was like before accepting Christ as Savior. His joy comes out of a deep appreciation for Jesus, the suffering he did in our behalf.
We have a choice whether we highlight the negatives in our life or the grandeur of knowing Jesus, the Son of God. What Jesus did was so magnificent when he left his heavenly throne and was born as a babe to ultimately be murdered for us. The prophet Habakkuk declared, “I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (3:18b) This is intentional. He set his spiritual thoughts on a better form of concentration
Psalm 51 was written by David as he grieved over the sins he committed in adultery and the arranged murder of her husband. He said, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation…” (vs 12a) Apparently, he was so captured by his sin that joy became transitory for him. It is true if we allow sinful behavior to interfere in a relationship with God, joy will slip away from us.
There is no suggestion here for a person to ignore their own misery just to declare they have joy. The miserable situation may be persistent. It may be difficult for which to cope. Even physical hurts can be part of this misery. The enemy may rob from us any level of well-being. He cannot rob from us the spiritual joy that comes from our relationship with God unless we get our eyes off Jesus. We can be miserable and still have joy. We can have pain and still have joy. This is because our misery and pain is related to the carnal body. Where is our joy originates from the strengths we have in our relationship with Christ, our appreciation for him, our eternal destiny because of him.
Christian Writer 