I’d like to tell you a story: Three friends, Reggie, Nguyen, and Jim, met for lunch at the golf course ⛳, and each one was full of joy.
Reggie, after slightly puffing out his chest, exclaimed, “Well, guys, I “hate” to rub it in, but my team made it to the Final Four 
…AND my company gave us tickets to the playoffs!”
He leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head, and challenged anyone to top that!
Nguyen replied, “Jealous. Not jealous. That’s cool, man! But…I have some pretty good news of my own: My wife told me this morning: ‘We’re having a baby!’ 👶🏽🍼 I can’t believe it! I’m gonna be a dad!” He was beaming and smiling from ear to ear.
“Congratulations, man!” Jim chimed in, “That’s fantastic! When is she due?”
Their conversation continued for a few minutes until Jim changed the subject: “So, I hate to break the mood, but I need to let y’all know that we finally got the pathology report back yesterday. Turns out, I have prostate cancer. 🎗️ It’s treatable, but it looks like I’ll be practicing my putt at home for a while.”
📞 HOLD THE PHONE!
You, the reader, might be thinking, “I thought you said all three people were ‘full of joy’! How is that possible when the third man is sharing a cancer diagnosis? I’m sure he was ‘exuding’ something, but there’s no way it could be JOY!”
As a matter of fact, he was full of joy—just a different type than the other two—we’ll look at that in a bit. But first, I want to share with you about a discussion I had with a few friends on my Facebook page. Here’s how that conversation came about:
As I prayed about and contemplated the word JOY for this devotional, I spent some time in the Bible and a few minutes on Google. Did you know there are 19.5 million articles explaining how/why joy is better than happiness?! Good grief! Just so you know, I’ve decided NOT to add to that total. You’re welcome!
As you might imagine, the answers varied, but not very widely: The overwhelming majority of my Christian and Agnostic friends agreed that it’s possible, although a few dissented. A Buddhist friend affirmed that while choosing joy is attainable, it’s not easy and requires “not just self-discipline, but a willingness to forgo unhealthy attachment to things as they are.” The response that really got my attention, though, was from a friend in Washington state. He commented, “I think I choose optimism and attitude, but ‘joy’ is something I receive.” And just like that, my perspective on joy shifted.
I realized that I had been approaching this subject all wrong—as if joy had only one meaning. What I needed to do was research JOY more thoroughly in order to understand its nuances. Because if joy can be received, then it can also be given. If it can be given and received, then it can also be rejected and disregarded. What IS joy? Where does it come from? Can I generate it by myself, or do I need to find it somewhere else? Or both? Or neither? (Yes, this is how my brain works.)
As you might imagine, the answers varied, but not very widely: The overwhelming majority of my Christian and Agnostic friends agreed that it’s possible, although a few dissented. A Buddhist friend affirmed that while choosing joy is attainable, it’s not easy and requires “not just self-discipline, but a willingness to forgo unhealthy attachment to things as they are.” The response that really got my attention, though, was from a friend in Washington state. He commented, “I think I choose optimism and attitude, but ‘joy’ is something I receive.” And just like that, my perspective on joy shifted.
I realized that I had been approaching this subject all wrong—as if joy had only one meaning. What I needed to do was research JOY more thoroughly in order to understand its nuances. Because if joy can be received, then it can also be given. If it can be given and received, then it can also be rejected and disregarded. What IS joy? Where does it come from? Can I generate it by myself, or do I need to find it somewhere else? Or both? Or neither? (Yes, this is how my brain works.)
So, I began my “formal” research. And guess what I learned? JOY, one word in English, is expressed with a variety of words in other languages—even in the Bible! I was surprised to find at least ten different root words for joy in the Old Testament (Hebrew) and five different word groups in the New Testament (Greek). Since we English speakers tend to use only one word for joy, it’s simple to suppose why joy is so frequently conflated with cheerfulness, contentment, pride, bliss, hope, and happiness.
Noted psychologist Dr. Robert Plutchik developed a “wheel of emotions” (see image below) to visually describe the relationships of emotions to each other. He first identified eight “primary” emotions: joy, sadness, anger, fear, trust, disgust, surprise, and anticipation. He taught that basic emotions could be expressed at a variety of intensities (like shades of a particular color) and could combine to create even more! Plutchik identified 8 distinct second-level and 25 third-level emotions for a grand total of 33 distinct emotions that comprise JOY. No wonder we struggle to understand it.
In order to better apprehend joy, imagine a backwards prism (see my diagram below). There’s a full spectrum of second-level emotions shining into the prism (not to mention the third-level behind it), but only one emotion beams out the other side: JOY. That tiny word is pretty complex!
Joy is neither pre-meditated, nor can it’s time of arrival be controlled. When joy arrives on the scene, “it takes possession of the whole person”1—body, mind, and spirit. This is why “tears of joy” is not an oxymoron: It’s perfectly natural for a person to well-up with tears (i.e., have a visceral reaction) in the midst of a joyous occurence.
Three Distinct Types of Joy
So, does everyone experience joy? Yes, but not always in the same way and not necessarily the same types. Scripture presents us with three kinds of joy: Public Joy, Personal Joy, and Pure Joy.
Type #1: Public Joy
PUBLIC JOY is a shared experience with others and fades more quickly than the other two types. For example, you might experience public joy at a Panthers game—assuming they are your favorite team, and they win. Or maybe you’re at a regional conference with some friends, and one of them makes a life-changing decision. Or maybe you are cheering at the TV when your favorite team seals their spot in the Final Four during March Madness. Even though you’re not necessarily in a crowd at the moment, you are enjoying it with people from all over the world. Biblical examples of public joy are seen during annual feasts, communal festivals, and celebrations (cf. Num. 10:10; Deut. 16:15). At times—even today—it may be felt in the course of corporate worship (cf. Ezra 3:13). Unfortunately, public joy is temporary—it rises and falls with the live experience. At certain times it will last longer than others, but eventually, public joy fades away.
Type #2: Personal Joy
PERSONAL JOY is experienced within oneself, but it is not received or felt until something happens. The “something” might be an anticipated milestone (e.g., the arrival of a letter from a publisher accepting your book proposal; the birth of a child; your husband’s promotion at work; etc.), or it could be a complete surprise (e.g., a soldier surprises her family by coming home unannounced). At that moment—when IT happens—you experience a spontaneous visceral reaction as personal joy “wells up” within you—“tears of joy” may be involved. Or not. How one experiences personal joy has as much to do with a person’s character and values as it does their personality type. When something happens in alignment with your values and hopes, the strong emotional response you have is more than relief, happiness, or even peace: It’s a deep sense of joy that lingers (cf. Luke 1:39-44; 2 Tim. 1:4). Personal joy takes up most of the spectrum. Individuals will find joy in a variety of things or find themselves receiving joy in unexpected moments. Interestingly, what brings one person joy, might trigger sadness in another. Personal joy is, well, personal.
Type #3: Pure Joy
PURE JOY is experienced at the metaphysical level (spiritually). It exists separate from the individual, and might seem elusive, if you don’t know where to find it. Thankfully, Scripture teaches us where to look and how to acquire it (cf. Ps. 16:11; ). Pure joy is the spiritual fruit of a personal relationship with the Lord—rooted in His Word and cultivated by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-26). It’s this relationship that produces in us the ability to face severe circumstances with a sense of deep and abiding joy. Pure joy holds us in place like an anchor in the storm. No longer do we rely on public joy or personal joy to carry us through the tough times: That’s dangerous and way too subjective (Neh. 8:10). Instead, we cling to the promises in His Word (cf. Isa. 40:31; Mal. 3:10; John 8:36; Jas. 1:5), trusting that He will work everything out according to His plans and for His glory (cf. Psa. 139; Isa. 46:9-10; Jer. 29:11; Rom. 8:28; 1 John 4:13). This yields a peace that passes understanding, and pure joy has a place to root and grow.
Tend the Garden of joy
Public Joy, Personal Joy, Pure Joy—each of these was created for our benefit, and they are not mutually exclusive. We can experience them one at a time, or all at once! But if your goal, like mine, is to approach life with Pure Joy (the joy of the LORD), we must discipline ourselves to tend the garden of our hearts.
We must consistently lop off self-reliance (Rev. 3:15-20), fear (1 John 4:18), and anxiety (1 Peter 5:7); and instead, feed on the Word (2 Tim. 2:15 & 3:16-17); assure proper exposure to the Son (cf. Rom. 10:9-10; Jas. 4:7-8); allow pruning to stimulate growth (John 15:2); and enjoy unlimited access to living water (cf. John 7:37-39; Rom. 5:4-6; Rev. 22:17). ️
Tend the garden, and Pure Joy will bloom in a full spectrum of color so beautiful that others will want to know how you did it. Then, you share your little secret: It’s all about Him (Matt. 5:15-16
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This devotional was initially featured in the ‘Rooted at the Throne’ series, a yearlong collection of devotionals curated by renowned author and speaker Rachael Carman on her previous blog.