What’s the difference between joy and happiness?

Jackie asked: What’s the difference between joy and happiness?

I can’t think of a particular scripture that outlines the differences between joy and happiness, but I do know this question gets asked frequently. Scripture talks a lot about joy, and little about happiness. I find it easier to talk about happiness first, then talk about joy.

Happiness is an external feeling. When something good happens it makes a happy. When the sun is shining and everything is going well we are happy. It’s that new car freshness, looking good when you’re going out, a pleasant delightful surprise, and getting what we want. Happiness isn’t wrong, it’s simply temporary and circumstantial.

Joy is different. Joy is an internal contentment regardless of circumstance. We can have joy in difficult circumstances without having to smile or make joyful noises. Joy is not an external emotion. We can have joy while we grieve. We can have joy while being angry. We can have joy while being heartbroken. We can have joy in painful circumstances.

When Paul rejoiced in his sufferings, he wasn’t happy about his external circumstances, he was joyful that God was using him to preach the gospel. Even though he was being mistreated, abused, and physically beaten. Paul sang while in prison, even though he wasn’t happy. He sang because he knew God was at work, even though he couldn’t see it.

Jackie asked: Can you have one without the other?

When we rejoice in our sufferings, we don’t have to sing or smile: that’s happiness. Having joy means being content even though we are going through difficult times and want to see things change.

Having joy changes our perspective and can bring us happiness, but happiness cannot bring us joy. Happiness is an addictive feeling, a temporary high. The pursuit of happiness is the pursuit of that high, and often leads people into bad situations. Consider the shop-a-holic, who continually buys new clothes because it feels good. All the clothes in the world won’t buy lasting happiness. Money and clothes aren’t the real issue; the real issue is not being satisfied with our possessions or where we are in life.

Joy is finding that satisfaction. Joy allows us to rejoice and praise God even in difficult circumstances, because we know he’s at work. I think it’s wonderful when we have joy and happiness. When happiness wears out is when we find out how deep our joy is.

The simple answer is yes, you can have joy and not have happiness. You can have happiness and not joy. You can have both. You can have neither.

Jackie also asked: Can you have it and lose it?

Yes. Happiness is fleeting, and going through difficult times can rob us of our joy. Consider Naomi in the book of Ruth. Once she had everything she wanted and then lost it all. She wanted to change her name to Mara because she was bitter about what had happened to her. What I find amazing about the book of Ruth is that even though we may feel like we’ve lost all joy and happiness in the world, God has not forgotten us. The book of Ruth ends with the restoration of Naomi; she gets her joy back.

Jackie’s final question: Can you have neither and be a Christian?

Yes! Joy is something learned. It’s not an inherent quality. Difficult times tell us a lot about who we are and what we lack. Hardship is part of life, we can let it drag us down, or we can use it to identify where we need to grow. Reclaiming joy is not about focusing on the positives in life. It’s about focusing on God. Everything else is subject to change, but God and His love are not. The love of God is the source of a Christian’s joy. We often misunderstand the love of God, and as such, it’s easy to miss out on joy. Pursuing the love of God is a great way to find joy.