The True Source of Joy
Joy is God's gift to us for our faith, humility, trust, repentance, and obedience.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
Does that sound familiar? It’s a line in just about every romantic movie. When we’re caught up in the romance of a movie or TV show, it sounds great and we naturally want someone who will make that promise to us.
Sadly…it’s an impossible, unrealistic task.
I know…you’re thinking, “What do you mean? I’m with someone who makes me happy!” And that might be true, but what about during the trials and stresses of every day life? When there are bills to pay, children to take care of, job deadlines to make, frustration when you’re trying to make ends meet, and family drama to navigate, just how much are you really making each other happy?
The thing is, making each other happy is not really our jobs. We can be happy in our relationships, and, yes, being with the one you love makes you happy. It’s when expectations aren’t met that trouble begins. If someone promises to make you happy for the rest of your life, but doesn’t deliver on that promise 24/7, it potentially erodes trust in a way. Not blatantly, but doubt sets in, and you’re left wondering if the fairy-tale honeymoon is over.
For example, if I’d told Chris at the beginning of our relationship, “It’s YOUR job to make me happy. I am relying on YOU to make me happy”, it would have put way too much pressure on him to meet those expectations in our relationship. And that’s extremely unfair. Being with Chris is easy, and he obviously makes me happy, but I think it’s important to note that there’s a difference between the inner joy that my faith brings and worldly happiness. Chris doesn’t have to go out of his way to make me happy; he does that just by being who he is and by the way he treats me. My joy comes from within, radiating from the Holy Spirit. It cannot be taken from me by anybody, and it doesn’t diminish even through life’s challenges. It isn’t dependent upon other people or material possessions. I don’t constantly think, “If Chris does {this} for me or gives me {this}, THEN I’ll be happy” or “If {this} happens, THEN I’ll be happy” or “When I get {this thing}, THEN I’ll be happy”. My joy is a wonderful gift that can only come from the Lord, and it increases when I pray and worship Him.
Because Chris has the same inner joy that I have, we’re able to share and magnify it without expecting each other to be responsible for what we feel. Do we have rough days when we feel overwhelmed and upset about certain things? Absolutely, and we do our best to comfort each other when we have those days, but we also recognize that we must individually work through whatever may be going on {with support, of course}. Neither of us have the ability to instantly make things go away, even though we may wish we could. Instead, we turn to the Lord for His help, and pray for each other in the meantime. No relationship should ever come with the demand to make the other person happy. Both people in a relationship must focus on bringing something positive and uplifting, as opposed to always taking or always focusing on what’s lacking.
Don’t rely on the world for empty happiness. Focus on the Lord for true inner joy that cannot be taken from you, in any circumstance.
God bless! ✝️❤️
These things I have spoken to you so that My joy
may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
- John 15:11
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