Q:
What is joy and why is it important for emotional health?
A: Often when mental health issues are discussed, the painful issues of emotions are addressed such as anxiety, depression, trauma recovery, and the like. Addressing these prevalent issues is important, yet there is another side to mental health that needs equal attention: understanding and fostering joy in our lives.
This column column explores the foundation of joy and provides a springboard for the practice of joy.
What is Joy?
For Christians, the concept of joy gets confusing. We are told joy is not an emotion, like happiness. While it is true that happiness comes and goes and joy can exist even when our circumstances change, there is no getting around that joy is an experiential reality. This means it is a state of being that involves our mind, will, emotions, and the deep inner place in all of us where the Holy Spirit resides and speaks God-reality to us.
We are told in the Scriptures that joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) and are encouraged in 1 Thess. 5:16 to “be joyful always.” Jesus embodied joy and was anointed with the oil of joy as referenced in Psalm 45 and Hebrews 1. Joy is important.
Joy is a stabilizer. It serves like an anchor, holding us in the reality that good still exists during bad. And that the purposes of God in Christ are present realities, even as we await the ultimate setting right when Christ fully “fills everything in every way” (Eph. 1:23). Joy is often a “both-and” experience rather than an “either-or” experience.
The Connection Between Joy and Enjoyment
Did you notice that the word “joy” is smack dab in the middle of the word “enjoyment?” Enjoying the good things in life connects us to something vital. Not all is bad with the world we live in and the people in it! A good cup of coffee in the morning, rich conversations with friends, and watching a sunset are all small tastes of God’s gifts to us. They connect us to the goodness He originally created, is maintaining, and will ultimately restore. Pure enjoyment is important to embrace.
It is difficult for people to embrace joyful experiences. Research shows that 85 percent of humans cannot embrace the good without waiting for the other shoe to drop. That is a remarkable and telling statistic! In a later column, we will discuss hindrances to joy, but one of the most powerful hindrances is the inability to receive the good in the moment. The “moment” is connected to a larger picture and if we don’t receive the good in the moment, it can be more difficult to connect to the larger picture when we need it.
Why is Joy Important?
Since joy is a fruit of the Spirit, embodied by Jesus and encouraged as an ongoing practice, we know it is important. As important as joy is in fortifying our internal lives, it is equally vital for spreading the fragrance of joy in our communities. The joy we carry reminds others that God has not abandoned the people and world He created. We may not use those words, but the essence of joy communicates that.
Joy is a contagious experience. We want to be around people who are carriers of joy. They calm our souls, and they encourage and strengthen us. Can we be carriers of joy? This does not mean that we put on a happy face and are dishonest about difficult things we may be wrestling with. On the contrary, as Christ did, we model the “both-and” experience. It is a powerful witness and one of the most important elements of being human we can assist others with.
Joy is important for our personal mental health, because we are designed for joy, along with creation because it, too, was designed for joy. Although so many things are wrong with creation, joy is the signpost that God’s goodness has never ceased being an active presence, and is available to us here and now, even as we wait for ultimate future hope. The Holy Spirit is compassionately and powerfully able to increase our joy, regardless of personality and life circumstances. Let us ask Him to grow joy in greater measure in our lives!
