joy

i've been thinking a lot about joy lately.

about how it is too often mistaken for happiness. how it is a decision. but mostly how it has absolutely nothing to do with the situation that you find yourself in.

some of my favorite verses in the bible, from the end of the book of Habakkuk, reminded me of this...

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

—Habakkuk 3:17,18

the situation clearly doesn't matter. food or no food. wealth, no wealth. things to worry about, no worries, Habakkuk reminds that no matter what is happening in my life, i still need to be joyful, because none of these things can change that my God loves me.

so today, i am telling my heart to rejoice.