Hey everyone, it's E and welcome to another episode of Monday Meditations.

Today we're going to be meditating on the word joy.

Joy is really powerful.

And some people think that you can use joy and happiness interchangeably, but you really can't.

And I've talked about this before in previous podcasts, but you can be happy and joyful, but you can't be happy when you're sad.

You can be joyful when you're sad or emotionally distraught because you're holding on to hope in Christ Jesus.

But happiness is fleeting.

It's an emotion that fluctuates with circumstance.

But as a Christian, joy is so deeply ingrained into

our hearts. And joy is long-lasting, and it satisfies the heart in an extremely unique and

incredible way. And it's no doubt a characteristic of God's people who are walking in his presence.

Joy is an absolute gift, and it's given to those who trust in Christ.

Yes, circumstances may change.

You might lose a friendship, a relationship, leave a job, struggle financially, but joy is still at the bedrock of your spiritual formation.

And joy is the result of a deep trust in and love for Jesus.

When you have joy, it just shows. It absolutely radiates. You can tell a joyful person,

especially when you walk into a room and you can just see, you can just sense it.

And I heard something really interesting this past Thanksgiving weekend.

The person said, to a Christian, this life that we're living is the closest thing that they will

ever get to hell.

And to a non-believer, this life is the closest thing that they will ever get to experiencing heaven. And as believers, we have so much to be

joyful for and about. Jesus Christ died for you so that you could live and live abundantly with a joy-filled

...