Joy

Most of us think of joy as an emotion—a state of happiness or felicity. While that is true, like so many words in the scriptures, there are other meanings that sometimes apply to the concept of joy when the word is used in the scriptures. When the scriptures tell us, “Let the saints shout for joy” (Ps. 132:9), it probably means happiness. But when Paul says, “Ye became followers of us, and of the lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost,” we get the feeling there is more than simple emotion invoked here. This joy doesn’t come from our own heart or mind, it comes from the Holy Ghost. When the Savior says, “I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13), we know that this joy isn’t just feeling good. This joy is a power that is God’s and something He shares with us. This is confirmed in Galatians 5:22-23 when Paul teaches us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.

The dictionary helps us out here. Actually the first definition of joy is “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” While this definition is still tied to emotion, we see a little more. Joy comes from the prospect of possessing what one desires and in the gospel context what we desire is to have the Spirit with us. As we put the scriptural verses about joy together, we realize that joy is the feeling we have within us when we are in possession of the Holy Ghost. Thus joy is more than an emotion similar to happiness;it is a state of being near to God.