Happiness is an emotion, joy is a discipline.

I'm going to be honest. I am not happy living in an apartment. The walls are paper thin and I hear everything from the loud music to the clanking of the ceiling fan in the apartment below. We are crammed in tight and my kids have no where to let loose and play. It's hard to have people over and I constantly feel on edge because it is difficult to relax at home. I am not happy all the time, but I am content and I do find joy in this unideal situation. 

God is teaching me a very important lesson while I live in this tiny space. My contentment and security in His plan are not linked to my emotions. I cannot trust how I feel but I can trust in Him, so I am disciplining myself to find joy in all circumstances. We are very blessed to have a clean place to live that is affordable. We do not struggle and my kids are safe. I am finding joy and thanksgiving in this season of life but my joy is not linked to my happiness as it is hard to be happy when you are kept awake by a variety of noises and mild tremors.

Here's the thing friends. If our contentment and joy are based on our happiness, it will not last. You will not be happy all the time. Life will go through seasons of bleh and rain clouds. We are human and we live in a world that is saturated with highs and lows so we should anticipate we will not be happy all the time. Here's the truth God is resonating in my heart as I am in a season of bleh living... it's ok.

We don't have to be happy all the time. God understands not every blessing He provides is going to make us happy. He is not worried so much about our happiness as He is concerned about our ability to find contentment and joy during the seasons when we need to be the most. Do we celebrate and trust His plan even when we feel bleh? Does the truth He is good still permeate through our soul during the times of life when we struggle feeling good ourselves? God desires to teach us, mold us, refine us. Those verbs can distort and break down the element being transformed and this process is not ever easy and that's to be expected. God doesn't command us to be happy. He commands us to discipline ourselves to be joyous.

I can honestly say even though I'm not happy with my situation all the time I am content. I know God has a plan and I can patiently wait as He unravels that plan to me. I can honestly say I am joyous even when I don't feel happy all the time. God has blessed me and given me so much how can my heart not be joyous? I have to realize my contentment and joy are separate from how I feel in the moment. My emotions can trick me and give me a false sense of security whether positive or negative. My wisdom and security must come from the truth of how He feels about me, not how I feel about myself or circumstance.

You see my friends happiness is an emotion. Joy is a discipline. Disciplines are not easy to master and not connected to how we feel in the moment. Happiness only takes what is happening now into account, joy is taking what He did on the cross into account. In the shadow of the cross, joy is found. I can't help but be joyous when I think of my Jesus and His love for me. Joy puts into perspective the frustrations and worries we have right now so we can worship and find peace in the present. 

I try to find rest as I watch sweet Stella sleep and I am soothed by the truth of His love and provision. My soul, just like sweet Stella, has found peace and rest in His promises and sacrifice. I'm so thankful God has helped me understand I do not have to fake happiness to possess joy. I can be bleh sometimes, it's ok. As long as I am grounded in His promises and trust His plan my happiness is not all that important. I am becoming more and more aware of the importance of putting my life in perspective and nurturing a contented heart. I'm learning the key to being joyous is focusing less on my circumstance and more on His sacrifice. 

So I celebrate the bleh times of my life. I accept I won't be happy all the time and celebrate my joy is not linked to my emotions. I celebrate the rain clouds for they always are proceeded a beautiful rainbow. God has a way of turning the unhappy moments into treasured memories of His love and provision. 

I pray my friends you will take heart when you are unhappy and don't beat yourself up for feeling down. Our contentment and joy are not linked to situations but instead they are linked to something much more stable, our Savior. So whatever is making you unhappy in the moment do not allow the situation to sabotage your joy. Let's focus less on how we feel and fixate on how He feels about us so we can find peace and joy as we celebrate during the unhappy times in our lives. After all, our unhappiness will pass but if we discipline ourselves our joy can last forever.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
~ Hebrews 12:2-3