Be Still And Know

Psalm 128:1-2 If we were sitting in a discussion group right now, I would love to ask you, and everyone else, what your definition of joy is. We will, I am sure, all agree that we want it, but I suspect we would come up with lots of different words to define it. Many would offer the word ‘happiness’; others might suggest contentment, peace, love, unity, freedom, wholeness, or many other words. I am sure that we would all agree that joy is something deep. It has lasting qualities. Joy is, of course, closely related to happiness. Some translations of these verses use that word. However, it is often the case that we use the word ‘happiness’ to describe our reaction to something that happens, and it can therefore be a fleeting experience. God’s joy is not like that because it depends upon a relationship - and so joy is as everlasting as God himself. As C.S. Lewis put it in Letters to Malcolm (Mariner Books): “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” The solid nature of joy is powerfully described by James at t