Happy and You Know It
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet. (stomp stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hurray!" (hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hurray!" (hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hurray!" (hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (clap-clap, stomp-stomp, hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (clap-clap, stomp-stomp, hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, do all three. (clap-clap, stomp-stomp, hoo-ray!)
I am grateful to God and a dear friend of mine for showing me something fundamental and absolute about the difference that exists between happiness and joy. These words are often used interchangeably and we assume that they are essentially synonyms. I want to explain why that is not true. I am proposing that happiness is an emotion that is dependent upon circumstance or incidental happenings while joy is more or less an element of our world view or our perception of our place in the kingdom of God. I know that is conflicting and seemingly contradictory but bear with me and I will try and resolve the confusion.
Having the blessing of existing in a western culture in the 21st century,
we are far removed from the hardship and struggle that marked life for most of the generations that preceded us. We enjoy an existence that would be unimaginable for anyone except royalty; we are relatively free from want, hunger, disease, war. We eat when we are hungry, we sleep when we are tired, we work 5 days a week, we vacation annually. We have doctors if we are sick, we have clean clothes and houses that are dry and safe. Our lives are very comfortable and filled with convenience and distraction. We have standards of living that would put us in the the top .05% of people who have ever walked the planet. That should be something worthy of happiness. A life worthy of joy.
We don't need to look very hard to realize how fleeting happiness can be.
Children give evidence to this in their reactions to events all the time. If they cannot have the candy, toy, etc. now, they are not happy and that fact is communicated instantly and with conviction. Because their frame of reference is narrow and necessarily self centered, they react to not being happy with howls and tears. Sadly, we often see adults who have the same reaction to circumstances that leave them less than happy. If we are fortunate enough to have had loving parents and good teachers, we realized through our formative years that it isn't always our day, we don't always win, sometimes life is not fair. We are incredibly fortunate if we have reached adulthood with a world view that acknowledges our tremendous blessing and favor with God in that we live where, when and how we do!
I want to suggest that happiness or being happy is a choice that we make in light of our circumstances; a decision that we must make continuously as we go through the day. Choosing to be happy is part of an outlook on life that takes responsibility for your reaction to events, disappointments, encounters.
If your world view is objective and you recognize how overflowing your abundance is, you can see the minor infringements, delays, hassles for what they are. Inconvenience does not warrant a tantrum, swearing, pounding on the counter or steering wheel. You will survive the moment and it need not color the rest of your day and every subsequent event that you encounter.
Perspective, experience, and maturity separate an adult happiness from a toddler happiness; we grow into a realization that there is rain, accidents, hurt, meanness in life. We can't control those things but we can manage our response and reception of them in our lives.
You may be thinking, "I know people who are always happy and they don't have a faith in God!” which brings us to the distinction or differentiation
between happiness and joy. The characteristic of joyousness or being filled with joy is distinct from happiness by its depth and source. This is where I will struggle to define the distinction that is so obvious yet defies explanation. In the same way that a happy adult is different from a happy 3 year old, a person that has joy is different from someone who is merely happy. Where 'happiness' is circumstantial, joy is 'constitutional'. Joy is a foundational element of a person who has been delivered from sin and death.
If you have a saving faith that God is who He says and that His Word is true,
you have a flame of hope in your core that is joy. You know that the 'happiness' of this world is only a rusty, dented hint of the 'joy' that exists in the presence of God. So while it is true that there are people who do not know God who are happy, only those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ possess the joy that is indicative of salvation.
For those who have joy, the burden remains; the knowledge that far too many around us are lost, seeking happiness in the moment, pursuing the
silver and gold that will melt in the end of this life. Sadly, there seems to be a window for us to learn the truth about happiness, joy, abundant living. Outside of that period, the willingness of our hearts to embrace truth diminishes, we become stiff and hard to accepting new life, new truth.
IF you know someone who needs joy, pray that our merciful God in His infinite love will heal their heart; that your Joy may serve as a light, that He will get glory because you were burdened for their salvation. Make sure that everyday you are happy about the right things, that the source of your joy is at the center of all you think, say, and do. Put away the things of childhood and embrace the joy that exists to be given away.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. (clap clap)
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet (stomp stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet. (stomp stomp)
If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hurray!" (hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hurray!" (hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hurray!" (hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (clap-clap, stomp-stomp, hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, do all three (clap-clap, stomp-stomp, hoo-ray!)
If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it
If you're happy and you know it, do all three. (clap-clap, stomp-stomp, hoo-ray!)
I am grateful to God and a dear friend of mine for showing me something fundamental and absolute about the difference that exists between happiness and joy. These words are often used interchangeably and we assume that they are essentially synonyms. I want to explain why that is not true. I am proposing that happiness is an emotion that is dependent upon circumstance or incidental happenings while joy is more or less an element of our world view or our perception of our place in the kingdom of God. I know that is conflicting and seemingly contradictory but bear with me and I will try and resolve the confusion.
Having the blessing of existing in a western culture in the 21st century,
we are far removed from the hardship and struggle that marked life for most of the generations that preceded us. We enjoy an existence that would be unimaginable for anyone except royalty; we are relatively free from want, hunger, disease, war. We eat when we are hungry, we sleep when we are tired, we work 5 days a week, we vacation annually. We have doctors if we are sick, we have clean clothes and houses that are dry and safe. Our lives are very comfortable and filled with convenience and distraction. We have standards of living that would put us in the the top .05% of people who have ever walked the planet. That should be something worthy of happiness. A life worthy of joy.
We don't need to look very hard to realize how fleeting happiness can be.
Children give evidence to this in their reactions to events all the time. If they cannot have the candy, toy, etc. now, they are not happy and that fact is communicated instantly and with conviction. Because their frame of reference is narrow and necessarily self centered, they react to not being happy with howls and tears. Sadly, we often see adults who have the same reaction to circumstances that leave them less than happy. If we are fortunate enough to have had loving parents and good teachers, we realized through our formative years that it isn't always our day, we don't always win, sometimes life is not fair. We are incredibly fortunate if we have reached adulthood with a world view that acknowledges our tremendous blessing and favor with God in that we live where, when and how we do!
I want to suggest that happiness or being happy is a choice that we make in light of our circumstances; a decision that we must make continuously as we go through the day. Choosing to be happy is part of an outlook on life that takes responsibility for your reaction to events, disappointments, encounters.
If your world view is objective and you recognize how overflowing your abundance is, you can see the minor infringements, delays, hassles for what they are. Inconvenience does not warrant a tantrum, swearing, pounding on the counter or steering wheel. You will survive the moment and it need not color the rest of your day and every subsequent event that you encounter.
Perspective, experience, and maturity separate an adult happiness from a toddler happiness; we grow into a realization that there is rain, accidents, hurt, meanness in life. We can't control those things but we can manage our response and reception of them in our lives.
You may be thinking, "I know people who are always happy and they don't have a faith in God!” which brings us to the distinction or differentiation
between happiness and joy. The characteristic of joyousness or being filled with joy is distinct from happiness by its depth and source. This is where I will struggle to define the distinction that is so obvious yet defies explanation. In the same way that a happy adult is different from a happy 3 year old, a person that has joy is different from someone who is merely happy. Where 'happiness' is circumstantial, joy is 'constitutional'. Joy is a foundational element of a person who has been delivered from sin and death.
If you have a saving faith that God is who He says and that His Word is true,
you have a flame of hope in your core that is joy. You know that the 'happiness' of this world is only a rusty, dented hint of the 'joy' that exists in the presence of God. So while it is true that there are people who do not know God who are happy, only those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ possess the joy that is indicative of salvation.
For those who have joy, the burden remains; the knowledge that far too many around us are lost, seeking happiness in the moment, pursuing the
silver and gold that will melt in the end of this life. Sadly, there seems to be a window for us to learn the truth about happiness, joy, abundant living. Outside of that period, the willingness of our hearts to embrace truth diminishes, we become stiff and hard to accepting new life, new truth.
IF you know someone who needs joy, pray that our merciful God in His infinite love will heal their heart; that your Joy may serve as a light, that He will get glory because you were burdened for their salvation. Make sure that everyday you are happy about the right things, that the source of your joy is at the center of all you think, say, and do. Put away the things of childhood and embrace the joy that exists to be given away.
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