Joy–It’s a deep hunger–my greatest desire–a desperate passion.
What is this thing I seek so passionately? Is it something that is found, like a sea shell? One moment I’m joyless; the next moment my life is flooded?
Or is it more like love–creeping up on one, until “I was in the middle of it before I knew that I had begun” (Pride and Prejudice chapter 60)?
Or perhaps it is a journey. A path one follows. A life direction. Choices. Habits. Thoughts.
But what choices? What thoughts? What habits?
If life is path, what path do I follow? Success? Money? Prestige? Do those paths lead to joy?
Or is there another path–narrow, deserted, and hard–less appealing than the others. The path to life.
“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy.”
Joy. An “Intense and ecstatic or exultant happiness” (The American Heritage Dictionary). Happiness taken to a whole new level. Ecstatic. God has promised that kind of happiness when I seek His presence.
He doesn’t promise it will be easy. There are no guarantees of success, or fame, or money. In fact, it may be downright hard!
But when I seek his presence–through prayer, worship, or meditating on His Word–I will find “fullness of joy.” It’s a promise. Joy will come!