Joy isn't found in a bottle. I knew a lady that walked in the flesh all her life, living as she pleased, ignoring the path that God lays out for us. Known for having a filthy mouth, a bad temper, and a filthy mind. She made this comment to me. "I went to the doctor and he gave me my happy pill." If her pill made her happy then why was she so miserable and fighting with people all the time? Joy and happiness cannot be manufactured in a chemical factory and pushed into a bottle that we can purchase and digest. You have to go to the Word of God to find true joy, because joy and happiness is a gift from God. This is why you can be 'living the dream' and still find your joy is lacking. This is why you can be a billionaire and still struggle finding peace and joy in your life. This is why you can accomplish all your goals and still feel empty. This is why you can purchase everything you desire and it isn't enough to give you lasting peace and joy. On the contrary it is possible to be poor as dirt and still be happy. Some of the happiest people I know are people the world has labeled with a learning disability, because happiness and peace is a gift from God and not something that can be obtained by human effort. NO matter how hard you try you can not make yourself happy and joyful on a continual basis by your own efforts.
Psalm 46:4 There is a river, the streams of which shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most High.
Contrary to what the world believes it is easy to be happy. All you have to do is find the river of God and drink the water. The river isn't a place on earth, it is a figurative description of the Holy Spirit of God that is freely given to all those who are in Christ Jesus and seek for him as they would seek for a treasure.
John 7:38 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.
Jesus said that the Spirit inside of us would be a river of living water, he offered this water to the woman at the well. She had went from relationship to relationship to try to find happiness, and none had satisfied. Jesus said that if she would drink of the water he would give that she would never thirst again. This water satisfies, and he spoke of the Holy Spirit. That you are looking for, "a better life" it doesn't come from a bottle, it doesn't come from getting all your bills paid, it doesn't come from finding the right partner in life, it doesn't come from finding a better home, better clothes, or a nicer car or better income. The joy comes from the Holy Ghost, it is a gift from God. If we really believed this we would abandon all for the pursuit of the Spirit of God working within us, welling up our of our inner most being like rivers of living waters. We know how important water is, and yet the water we drink is not alive. God is saying the Spirit he wants us to live in is like water to our soul, but better than water, it is alive!
Isaiah 12:3
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
The joy of the Lord comes to each of us at Salvation because with the new birth experience we receive joy. Where did the joy come from? The Holy Spirit that brought us into new birth is the source of the joy. However if we do not continue to drink of the Holy Spirit we will find that we begin to lose our joy. The presence of God is felt in every service at our church. When people first come to our church their depressions begin to break off of them as they enter the door. Anxiety begins to break from them as the encounter the presence of God. Joy and peace begin to penetrate their inner most being. How does this happen just by sitting through a church service? It happens when the Spirit of God connects with our inner man. Joy and peace are a gift from God. When people walk into our church they are walking into the flow of the Holy Spirit and joy and peace begin to bubble up within them. You may not have a church in your area where you can walk in and experience the presence of God but you can experience this right in your own home. Begin to create an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit is welcome in your home and your heart. Put on music and TV that promotes the worship of God. Pray and ask God to fill you. Get rid of everything in your home that violates the Word of God and give him honor in your house.
Isaiah 35:6
Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
No matter what you situation in life you can have joy and peace even to the point of death, because it is a gift from God distributed by the Holy Spirit!
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