Joy Cometh : ..".for the Joy of the Lord Is Your Strength"

"...With joy, you shall draw water out of the well of salvation." Isaiah 12:3 Often, the virtue - Joy is confused or replaced with 'happiness'. However, they are greatly different although they seem similar on the outside. The difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is circumstantially driven, it depends on what happens but joy that make one holy is a fruit of the spirit and it is not just a feeling but a virtue which is connected to the giver of joy Himself. Joy is the evidence that we truly have faith and love. When I sense lack of Joy (not show off) in someone giving a gift to me, I try to be careful and check his or her reason for giving and many times, these are my discoveries: the gifts are either a trap, to control, to show off, manipulate, out of pitying or out of necessity. When we give to God out of obligation instead of joyfully, whether what we give is material or praise or even our faith - the lack of joy sells us off as fake. The signature of true faith and reliance on God is Joy. It is the unspeakable joy that gives peace in the midst of storms. You can't claim to stand on God's promises with kneels down before fear. You can't walk with God holding hands with doubt. Joy is the signature of true faith in God.