Want to be happier? Almost everybody does. But for most, if not all, of us happiness is fleeting. It keeps slipping through our fingers. It seems to come or go depending on our circumstances at the moment.
Maybe, what we’re really looking for is something with more staying power. Maybe what we’re really looking for is joy.
Right or wrong, joy is not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. The dictionary describes joy as “an emotion evoked by well-being, success or good fortune, or the prospect of possessing what one desires”, but I know that real and lasting joy doesn’t come from money or things. So what IS joy? Freedom? Satisfaction? Security? Hmmmmm . . . that list sounds strangely like the very things that Jesus came to provide for each one of us, both here on earth and for eternity.
I remember, in Sunday School, they taught us that JOY stood for J-esus; O-thers; and Y-ou . . . in that order. Back then it was a snappy little recitation we did . . . but in thinking about it now, I realize how apropos that is to the struggle of addiction and the bondage it creates.
Our lack of inner joy may stem from the fact that addiction twists that order until we have it totally backwards. Acting out is all about focusing on OUR needs and desires FIRST . . . about making ourselves feel good or safe. As our addiction grows we have less time and energy for others—especially Jesus. The shame and secrecy that addiction creates further robs us of our ability to trust others and turns our focus even more inward and away from the joy God has for us.
Maybe that’s why the risky business of reaching out is so important. It starts the process of reordering and restoring our allegiances and priorities back to the way God originally intended them to be. With persistence, it will eventually even bring us back to JOY.
“…then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being. And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.'” —Job 33:27-30
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