HES JOY

The speaker discusses the difference between joy and happiness, emphasizing that joy is a lasting state of being that remains despite circumstances, while happiness is temporary and dependent on external factors. They share personal experiences and insights on finding joy through a relationship with God, highlighting the importance of internal satisfaction and contentment. The theme of joy and grief coexisting, especially during the holiday season, is also explored. The speaker encourages listeners to seek joy from within and to navigate life's challenges with a sense of deep satisfaction. joy is something that remains even in the face of circumstances. Joy is something that is it's with you, it's a fruit, it's with you, and it continues to grow even in the face of obstacles, even in the face of circumstances. And so I want to just share how joy and happiness is two different things. Happiness is something that is temporal. Happiness is something that is conditional. It is contingent upon a person, a place, or a thing. Healing, the medicine that we all need, it forces us to address our emotions, target our pain, to identify where can you see the seed that plants those things that lives within. God wants to heal you. He wants to work on you. He gives what I'm in. Welcome to Healing Every Soul podcast. Let's journey together. Let's heal. Hey family, welcome to another episode of Healing Every Soul podcast. I'm your host, Sable Sauce, and I'm so glad that you guys have decided to tune in for another episode. If it's your first time here, welcome. I pray that whatever it is that you came looking for, that you receive it. And not only that, but I pray that something resonates in your heart, in your mind, and you have just even a different perspective on the topic that I'm getting ready to talk about. If you're returning, thank you again for tuning in. Do me a favor, if you are not subscribed on YouTube, on Spotify, on Apple, subscribe to the channel while you are here, subscribe to the podcast. And once again, thank you guys for journeying with me this month. The theme that I'll be talking about, I always on my podcast, since I have started, towards the end of the year, there is a sensitivity that I have towards the end of the year, especially around the time of the holidays. There's a sensitivity that I have for those who are grieving. When I had launched this podcast back in 2022, when the holidays came up, it was the first time that I had experienced a holiday season without my grandmother. And so for me, it was a time period of joy and grieving, because it was also the first holiday season for me that I was married and my family was coming to spend the holidays here. And so I had experienced and I understood what it meant to welcome joy and grief at the same time. And so there's a sensitivity that I have around the holidays that I always hope to extend to others who may be experiencing that same thing. And not only that, but also towards the end of the year is also a time period where people are reflective. People are thinking about what they've experienced throughout the year, what they have to endure through. Some people are disappointed by how the year went. Some people just want the year to be over. Some people are thinking about even things that did not happen that they were hoping to happen throughout the year. And so I really try to hold space for that on the podcast where joy and grief and like just navigating even through those moments. You can do both and just having a sensitivity towards others in this space. And so that's kind of what I'll be talking about. I'm talking about today or for the month of December, I'm talking about joy and just how to navigate through life when it feels dim. How to continue to have that light when it feels dim. And for starters, I want to talk for a moment about the fact that joy and happiness is two different things. A lot of times when we see or we think about joy, right, we think about it from the perspective of like, oh, I'm supposed to be this happy-go-lucky person or I'm supposed to be this like with all smiles and flowers and roses. But when you think about joy, just even from like a biblical perspective, joy being something that joy remains, right, where happiness is fleeting. Happiness is but for a moment. We think about the things that make a person happy. For me personally, when I think about like things that make one happy, I think about it from the perspective of things that are temporal, to be honest. Because when you think about just anybody receiving something that makes them happy is but for a moment. But if you no longer have that thing, if you no longer have access to that thing, that person, if you're no longer in that place and the happiness dwindles, that's not something that remains. That's just a feeling that is but for a moment. But joy is something that remains, even in the face of circumstances. Joy is something that is with you, it's a fruit, it's with you, and it continues to grow, even in the face of obstacles, even in the face of circumstances. And so I want to just share how joy and happiness is two different things. Happiness is something that is temporal, happiness is something that is conditional, it is contingent upon a person, a place, or a thing. And it's a state of being that one has when that person, place, or thing is present. But when that thing is no longer present, one can no longer be happy. And so all that to say that there is a difference between joy and happiness. And what joy really is, not only is it a state of being, but it is a sense of satisfaction that in spite of what is happening around me, in spite of what's going on in my life, in spite of even what I am feeling, that there is this sense of deep satisfaction where you just know that all is well, where you know that I'm okay, where you know that, look, I'm good. It's this sense of, I don't have to worry, I don't have to worry, I don't have to fear, I don't have to do any of these of the things, I don't have to be down, and I don't have to be depressed, because there's this sense of knowing, this internal sense of knowing that everything is going to be okay. And I personally believe that that can't come from any other place but God. Or let me rephrase that, I personally believe that the place where that has to come from, foundation from, at its core, is from relationships with God. Can God use other things in our lives, you know, and I'm like, as far as children, as far as your spouse, to bring a sense of joy, yes, but I think that at its core, the foundation of where the joy has to come from, it has to come from relationship with the Lord, knowing that no matter what is happening around me, I have a sense of joy because God has, you know, I have a sense of joy because Christ walked through me, I have a sense of joy because of my relationship with the Lord, and so I think for one, for starters, joy has to first come from relationships with God. And so, I'm saying all that to say, though, but first I wanted to acknowledge the difference between joy and happiness, because sometimes we could, sometimes if we're not careful, we could confuse the two, and so I wanted to first shed light on that, but the next thing that I also wanted to shed light on is the fact that joy and grief can coexist, because sometimes, right, like, I remember Toka said something like, once out on me, it was just like, I'm not always this happy-go-lucky person, and it's just like, joy, it's not a matter of like, you have to be this happy-go-lucky person all the time. Again, remember, I mentioned like, it's something that's internal, it's a state of being, and I'll talk about me, let me start there, I'll talk about me personally. I had to learn the difference between joy and happiness, because I remember in my early 20s, like, I feel like I had got to a place where I made up in my mind that I really wanted to grow in my relationship with God, and I wanted to go beyond just, okay, what I personally, what I read in the Word of God, what I've heard all my life growing up in church, but I wanted it to be something that was, like, personal for me, because I feel like I looked for different things from different, I looked for things from different things in my life, whether it was in the endeavors I was pursuing, or relationships, or friendships, I looked for different things, and I feel like it was always this sense of, like, something is missing, right, like, there was always this sense of, like, I'm not truly satisfied, and so I remember in my early 20s, I made the decision, I was like, I'm going to the class, and I was like, I just wanted to be just me and God for a minute, like, I'm talking about, y'all, I was finding myself going on, like, going to restaurants, going on, like, going on, like, a date by myself, right, like, treating myself to restaurants, just sitting down, like, whether that was reading a book, whether it was just, like, I really wanted to not only learn who I was, but I wanted to learn God, and that season of my life, I wanted to learn God in such a way, and I honestly, I wanted to learn God in such a way that I wanted to be established in who I was, and who he called me to be, who I was in him, who he called me to be, and not only did that, but I needed that deep sense of satisfaction to come from no other source, because I tried other sources, I tried other outlets, and it was still, it still felt like something was missing, it still felt like a sense of emptiness, it still felt like I wasn't truly satisfied, and it's just like, you're pursuing a master's degree, you are working within your career, fresh out of college, how are you not fresh out of receiving a bachelor's degree, you're in your early 20s, you accomplished a lot at a young age, why are you not satisfied? I wasn't satisfied, and it was because, yes, I knew God, yes, I had a relationship with the Lord, but it was, I didn't allow God to be the source of my joy. I knew God as father, I knew him as the one that saved me, I knew him as the one who kept me, but I didn't know him as the one that was the source of my joy. I looked for joy to come about from the tangible things that I could see within my life, but I didn't look for joy to come about from relationship with the Lord, and so I had to really allow God to walk me through what that was like, and I remember even that time period, just when I feel like when I would even think about allowing certain things to be the source of my joy, it's like something would happen, and I would learn very quickly, like, hey, listen, these things are temporal, these things are temporal, whether it was relationships, whether it was endeavors, just at the blink of an eye, right, like, just at the blink of an eye, things could dwindle, just at the blink of an eye, things could crumble, just at the blink of an eye, what you have put so much in could just, and that's not, I'm not even just talking about relationship-wise, but I'm talking about even the sense of, like, endeavors. For me, I was going for my master's, and, like, while I worked so hard for the degree, one thing that I could not wait for, I couldn't wait for the hooded ceremony to walk across the stage, like, this was something that I thought about even from when I started the program, and I put so much, just even my mind, my emotions, I started planning a trip, all of this stuff like that, I'm like, listen, I am about to graduate with my master's, I'm planning a trip, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, paid for the trip and everything, and then COVID hit, and I didn't get to walk across the stage, and I didn't get to go across, I didn't get to have that trip, and I did things that, I'm like, I'm gonna be on the beach with my captain gown, take a picture, all of the things, and honestly, like, I had, like, I really do feel like certain things happened the way that it happened, because I magnified certain things, or I allowed certain things to be the source of my joy, and I had to learn very quickly that, or I'm not gonna say very quickly, but I had to learn with time that, yes, the Lord can allow you to experience joy from things in your life, but that the satisfaction, that deep longing, that satisfaction, it has to come from the relationship that you have with him, and the relationship that you continue to build with him, because there is, the other things in our lives is temporal, the other things in our lives is in the blink of an eye, things could change, in the blink of an eye, things could shift, and so for me, that was something that I feel like that God had to walk me through, that was something that I feel like God had to walk me through, and I also learned, and the reason why I had said, like, even in this space, I wanted to hold space I wanted to hold space for joy and grief, I mean, and talking about joy, but then also talking about grief is because I think sometimes when we think about joy, we think about it from the perspective of it just has to be this sense of happiness, but the reality is joy is something that is present in the face of circumstances, like, I think about in the Bible, where people begin to talk about the joy of the Lord, right, like, I'm thinking about just even in the book of Mark, I believe it's chapter three, when he started to talk about, like, he rejoices in the God of his salvation, before him talking about rejoicing, he started to say, he's like, listen, those fig trees are not, like, he's going down the line of saying things that are not, he's like, though the fig trees, and I'm paraphrasing now, he's like, though the fig trees are not blossoming, though this is yielding no crops, though this is happening, he's like, yet still, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation, and it's like, when you think about just even during those times, he's pointing to, like, things are not being prosperous, things are not happening, this is not, like, things is looking not good, yet still, I rejoice, he's choosing to rejoice, he says, in the God of my salvation, meaning that I'm not banking on the crop yielding fruit for my joy, I'm not banking on the olive trees producing this, I'm not banking on these different things to produce for me to have a sense of joy, he's alluding to the fact that, listen, though these different things are not happening, I rejoice, still, in the God of my salvation, and so joy is not something that we feel just because conditions are favorable or just because everything is working in our favor, no, joy is, I still have this sense of satisfaction, I still have this sense that everything is going to be okay, I still have this sense that God holds my future, I still have this sense that I'm in good hands, even when conditions are not favorable, even when things are not looking up, even when things are not working in my favor, even when things are not going as I planned or as I intended or as I desired, there is still a sense of knowing that I'm in good hands, there is still a sense of satisfaction, there is still a sense that, God, you're still good, in spite of conditions, and so joy is a posture, joy is being able to still declare, even from a hard place, God, you're good, God, you got everything under control, Lord, you are, you're in control, Lord, you hold my future, it's a posture, it's a state of being to say, hey, listen, in spite of all that is happening, in spite of what's not happening, what I want to happen, this is still my posture, this is still my response, and I just, man, oh my goodness, I was reading, I was, to be honest, I was reading James, where it says, calendar of joy, where you fall into various temptations or divers temptations or some versions, I want to say, let me see, the NLT version, the NLT version says, calendar of joy, when troubles of any kind come your way, knowing that, it says, considering an opportunity for great joy, for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance, your chance to grow, and honestly, that's like, the writer is literally saying, to consider it joy, to change your perspective, to look at the, look at hardships, look at, it isn't anything that, one version says temptation, that sometimes we equate temptation with just things like the being tempted to do wrong, but no, temptation is, and this chapter with the writer is talking about, he's saying to consider it joy, when any kind of trouble comes about, it's not just a matter of temptation to do wrong, but he's saying, consider it joy, when any kind of trouble comes about, because it goes beyond just about being tempted to do wrong, no, consider it, calendar of joy, when you feel, even in your mind, there's a temptation for doubt to even come about, no, no, no, no, instead of doubting, count it all joy, count it all joy, when any form of hardship comes about, why? Because hardship is the opportunity for your faith to grow, hardship is the opportunity for endurance, for you to experience endurance, for maturity to come about, for you to grow, and as a person, for you to grow, and your ability to trust God, count it all joy, and it's one thing, I always say, it's one thing for us to read the word of God, it's another thing when we have to apply it, it's one thing for us to, you know, all right, count it all joy, I'm counting it all joy, but it's another thing when we're in the face of hardship, when we're in the face of what it feels like is defeat, when we're in the face of waiting on God, when we're in the face of literally having to be patient and believe God for something that you don't yet see, count it all joy, why? Because maturity is happening, why? Because my faith is growing, why? Because my ability to trust God beyond what I know is growing, I'm being stretched, and so, oh my goodness, this is something that this past year, even for me personally, and this scripture, this topic, it hits home for me because just recently, I began to think about, again, remember I shared with you guys that I believe that joy is something that, for one, it's even in the face of circumstances, right, and it can coexist with grief, and I'm going to get to I'm going to get to that, but I want to share something just even for me personally, I remember as I have said, like, I wanted to talk about this topic for two reasons, for one, because at the end of the year, sometimes people are grieving, people are in the holiday season, they're grieving the loss of loved ones, not being able to be present with them, but not just that, people are grieving what didn't happen in the year, people are grieving what they expected to take place, but did not take place, and again, emotionally, even in this moment, the other day, I was sitting, and I found myself, like, I started to think about things that I was looking for God to do within a year, things that I was looking for to happen within a year, and I started to reflect over the year, and it almost felt like, I don't even want to say a wave of discouragement, try to hit it, but it almost felt like a wave of, like, I guess I'll identify it as, it was a sense of, it was a sense of, like, grief, and I'm going to colonize it, it was a sense of grief, and it was a sense of discouragement, I'll just say that, because I can't think of any other word in a moment, and it almost felt like it tried to, like, hit me, like a ton of bricks, and for me, day by day, I am learning, day by day, how to apply the word of God, I do not want the word of God to just be something that I read, it's just something that I preach, no, I want it to be the thing by which I live by, where the scriptures that I'm reading, and I'm speaking to others, I want it to be the very thing that this is where I live by, and so I remember just in that moment, feeling that, like, and I had to, I'm like, no, wait, what is going to be my response, and I went into prayer, and as I'm praying, I'm like, like, I started to declare God's word, and my posture begins to shift, and what could have been a moment where, what could have been the space to allow discouragement and despondency and grief to sit on me like a ton of bricks, instead, I allowed my posture to shift, and I literally had to count it all joy, no, but God, this happened this year, no, but God, I've seen your hand in this year, I've seen you stretch me in such a way, I've seen you increase my capacity for what I can handle, I've seen you literally give me the ability to endure, I've seen your grace and learned what it means, that your grace is truly sufficient for me, I've seen you stretch me in ways where I've grown in maturity, I've grown in the ways of my safety, I've grown even in my relationship with you, I've grown in my posture towards you, but my posture had to change in that moment, where instead of allowing discouragement and grief to wail me, right, I had to, no, wait, hold on, I can process what didn't take place this year, I can grieve what I desired to happen, but it didn't happen, yes, those feelings is true, but even in that, my response is, God, you're still good, God, you're still in control, God, you still know what's best, God, your timing is impeccable, God, like, I have no choice but to trust you, it's you that's in control, and so, yes, I processed what didn't take place, but ultimately, my response and my posture was to still give recognition to the God that I believe is in control of my life, to the one who holds my future, to the one that walks with me, to the one that, to be true, truth be told, has sustained my mind even through the year, who has regulated every thought, every time doubt tries to creep in, every time something tries to, he's regulated my thoughts, his word has regulated my thoughts, and so, it's one thing to read the word of God, it is another thing when we have to, we have to apply it, and for me personally, as I mentioned, like, this is home, this is home, recently, I was reading, I was reading Ezra, I was reading the book of Ezra, and I think it was in, like, chapter three, or something like that, I think, I believe it was in chapter three, but what happened, and, like, it was literally, like, God needed me to see this, because what happened in the text was, there was a moment that they were, they were, they were working on, I believe they were working on rebuilding the temple, and the foundation of the temple had been laid, and there were people that were rejoicing at the fact that the foundation of the temple was laid, but then it was also, I believe it was a priest there who knew what the former was like, and they seemed to knew, and they were weeping, and so, what happened in that, in that moment was, there were people rejoicing, and there were people that were weeping, all at the same time, it happened, and it was happening at the same time, simultaneously, and I felt like the Lord needed me to see that, that joy and grief can coexist, it can coexist, it, like, here, there's people that's rejoicing at what is, but then there are people that are grieving because of what was, and, like, now having to embrace what is, and I believe that sometimes, like, the same thing could be happening for us, where it's not two different people, it's the same thing, sometimes the same thing could be happening for us, even internally, where we're grieving what was, we're grieving what did happen, all at the same time, having to embrace the new, having to embrace the current, having to embrace the place that God has you in, or the place that God is bringing you to, having to grieve what didn't go as planned, or how you imagined it, but still having to embrace, well, God, I have to embrace what you're doing, even in this space, I have to embrace, you know, the will for me, I have to embrace the outcome, I have to embrace this, and I think, to be honest, I think this is, like, that, being in that space, where grief is happening, yet still having to embrace, I think that is the opportunity, embrace the new, I think that's the opportunity for the fruit of joy to grow, and I say that because when you think about joy, it's a sense of satisfaction, it's a sense of peace, it is a sense of all is well, I mean, I should say that, it's a sense of all is well, and when you have to walk through grief, when you have to walk through what didn't take place, and you have to walk through these different things, and process these different emotions, the deep satisfaction should come from the place of, but God holds my future, but he knows the way that I take, and after he's tried me, after he's processed me, after I've gone through this, I should come out as gold, the joy should come from the place of, I know the plans that he has for me are of good, and they're not of evil, to give me hope, to give me a future, to give me an expected end, and so yes, I may be processing what didn't happen, I may be processing the grief, I may be processing even the loss, the loss of what was, the loss of a person, but I can still embrace the fact that God has me, God holds my future, God knows what's best for me, so it just, it gives the opportunity, our circumstances, our grief, our moments of suffering, or enduring, it gives the opportunity for the fruit of joy to grow, and so I pray that honestly, you take nothing away from this episode, I pray that you see circumstances differently, and instead of seeing it just as hardship, or you know, just as something that is difficult to go through, I pray that the way that you see it is, it's a chance for joy to grow, it's a chance for you to trust God a bit more, to lean on God a bit more, to trust him with your future, to trust him with your life, to trust him with your tomorrow, to trust him with the season that he has you in, and the season that he's bringing you to, I pray that it's the opportunity for your joy to grow, and that is joy that comes from God, I think that's what I have for this episode, and so I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna pray real quick, Father, I just thank you, Lord, for this moment, I thank you, Father, for just another opportunity, Lord, to speak, Lord God, on your behalf, Father, I pray for the person who may be watching this, who may be listening to this, Father, I pray, Lord, that even if they've walked through some dark seasons in this past year, Father, I pray, Lord, if they've been carrying a heaviness in their heart and in their mind, Father, I pray, Father, for freedom, I pray, Lord, that they will understand, Lord, God, that peace, the joy, Lord, the outlet that they're looking for, it comes from you, the freedom, the healing, it comes from you, and so, Father, I pray, even in this moment, that you would lift the heaviness in their heart and in their mind, Father, I pray that you would meet them right in the midst of where they are, Father, Lord, I pray, Lord, that you would bring about a sense of joy, Lord, Father, I pray, God, that as they, I pray, Lord, that there's a desire to grow in relationship with you, and I pray, Father, that as they grow in relationship with you, Lord, that you bring about joy, Father, that joy comes from knowing you, Father, I pray, Father, for the person who feels depleted, for the person who feels like they have no sense of joy, Father, I pray, Lord, that you would, hallelujah, I pray, Lord, that you would give them joy, Lord, just from them knowing you, Father, I pray that their mindset will shift, God, and that they will count it all joy when hardship comes about and that they will change their perspective and see it as an opportunity for their free space to grow, to see it as an opportunity, Father, for them to trust you, to see it as an opportunity for them to learn of you, Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, I pray, God, that you would bring about comfort to those who are grieving, to those who have lost loved ones, Father, I pray, Lord, that you would bring about comfort to them, Lord, and that they will find joy and solace, Lord, and memories, that they will find joy, Father, in you, that they will find joy in knowing that you are able to bring comfort, and so, Lord, I pray, God, that you would even send, Lord, God, just the comfort that they need, Lord, God, in this season, Father, I thank you, Lord, for being able to look to you, Father, and I pray, Lord, God, that even, Lord, that the days ahead for that individual, for those individuals, Lord, I pray, Lord, God, that their future belongs to you, Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you that you plan, and your plan for us is to give us hope, a future, and an example, and I thank you, Lord, I give you glory, praise, and honor, and I love you, Lord, and Jesus, and my friends, and, listen, I pray that you would bless this episode, if there is anything that I should leave with you, is, in what ways do your perspective need to change, in what ways do you feel like you need to change your perspective, and how can you, what is that expression, change your perspective, in regard to how you'll enjoy, um, what are some ways that your faith needs to grow, and so, I'll leave those questions with you guys to ponder on, and, um, I think that's it, and so, again, if you guys haven't subscribed to the YouTube channel, subscribe to the channel, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you are listening from, and I pray that you will bless, and as I always say, let's journey together, let's thrive, and let's heal! you