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Did you know there is no explicit difference between happiness and joy? 

Both involve emotions, both are pleasurable feelings, and both are mentioned in Scripture in passages that equate the two.

A dictionary definition of happiness is “a state of well-being; a pleasurable or satisfying experience.” And the  definition of the word joy is “to feel great delight; to be glad.” 

Now depending on the translation, the Bible uses the words happy and happiness about 30 times, while joy and rejoice to appear over 300 times. 

Jeremiah 31:13 says, “I will turn their mourning into gladness; / I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” 

Here, the words gladness and joy are used synonymously. 

And Proverbs 23:25 says, “Let your father and your mother be glad,  And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.” 

Being glad is the same thing as rejoicing in this verse, showing us that joy and happiness are linked.  

The common belief among some believers is that there is a difference between joy and happiness. Some choose to believe that  Happiness is worldly, but joy is divine. 

You know, sometimes we as believers want to be more intense than God and deeper than Jesus, according to scripture there is no such distinction made between happiness and joy.  If a person is joyful, then he or she is happy. We cannot drain the joy of emotion and still call it “joy.” 

Yes, the spirit of God gives us joy, so Christians should be cheerful people, joyful; happiness should characterize our everyday lives.  

James 1:2 says, “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials.” Christians, believers, and those who believe and trust God can be happy, even in the midst of difficulties, because we know “the testing of our faith produces endurance. 

Joy is sometimes also presented as “true” contentment based on faith. Happiness, in contrast, is often thought of as a “false” or “superficial” emotion dependent on circumstances. This too is a false dichotomy. There is nothing in the Bible that suggests we separate joy from happiness. The two are equal.  So go ahead be happy! It's God approved.

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