Why are you so happy?

Joy is another aspect of fruit of the spirit. What in the world is joy anyway? When people are joyful, it's usually because of something that happened or the expectation of what's going to happen. In the Biblical terms, we should be joyful because we know that God had bought us back from a sure death because He sent His son to die for us. Because we have accepted this fact, we know that one day, we will be with Him.

Because this life is temporary, we have joy that regardless of the situation that we are experiencing, we have this sure end... that one day, we will be with God in eternity!

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. Hebrews 12:1-3 NLT

See? Jesus endured the being whipped, and even the death on the cross, and the joy of knowing what awaited Him on the other side enabled Him to endure.

10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Romans 5:10-11 NLT

So... regardless of the situation, let's live a life of joy - because everything that we go through here... good or bad, pales in comparison to what we will experience when we are with God full time! Embrace this joy... and live in it!