Shout for Joy!

I wonder what shift would occur if our quest for happiness became a quest for joy; deep, lasting, joy.  Often the search for joy is masqueraded by relentless acts of happiness, one after another after another.  Is there a difference between happiness and joy?  Yes.  To dig deeply into the desires of the heart, one will soon find that happiness just is not enough.  Happiness comes and happiness goes.  Happiness never seems to rise to the anticipated level of satisfaction.  Happiness is an unfaithful companion.

I wonder, if in our relentless pursuit of happiness, we are selling out for something less-than-wholly-true.  The American dream is not all that we expect.  That perfect person has some annoying traits.  The hot car just does not deliver all the thrill the salesman promised.  Can we truly know Joy?  I hope so!  And this is why Psalm 33 is so compelling.  There is absolutely no mistaking the joy of the Psalmist as he proclaims loudly, "Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!"  This joy is wholly true, and it is a brand of joy for which we all long.  But how?

The answer is found in verse 21 of Psalm 33:  "For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name."  This is Joy!  Joy is to trust in His holy name - He who simply is.  This is Joy!  That He, the Great I Am, will finish all that He began in His great, wise plan of redemption.  This is Joy! That He, in Christ, will graciously transform our feeble attempts at happiness by lavishing upon us so much more of Himself - - His grace, His Truth, His Love - - forever!  "Shout for Joy in the Lord, O you Righteous!"