Break Forth into Joy

"It is not how much we have but how much we enjoy"

- Charles Spurgeon

In 2001, my wife and I travelled to a remote part of China to visit a Singaporean friend who was then working in an orphanage home. It was our first visit to China and we were mesmerized by the whole experience - the beautiful sceneries, the simplicity of the natives' life style, and the happiness and joy exhibited by the orphans, despite their many disadvantages.

photo: Lijiang, China 2001

Lijiang is reputed to have the best preserved ancient town in China - its Old Town has been listed in the World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO since 1997. Walking through the Old Town is like being transported back to ancient China - the architecture and mood was very much like the movie setting for Crouching Tiger & Hidden Dragon. Located at the south-western part of China (at the hub of Tibet, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces), Lijiang is blessed with fresh air, clear streams, breathtaking snow-capped mountains, and an undisturbed landscape inhabited by a friendly native group, the Naxi tribe, with their colorful costumes.

During our short 10-day stay, the local teachers and children, most of whom lost their parents and families in a massive earthquake, demonstrated to us what Charles Spurgeon once wrote, "it is not how much we have but how much we enjoy."

crystal clear running stream with willow trees

Someone once wrote,

"Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life."

Happiness is determined by fortunate circumstances. We're happy when things are going well for us, when we get what we want, when we're having fun, when we win something, when we have good luck. There's nothing wrong with happiness and we should treasure every moment of it.

photo: the girls teaching her a dance step

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Joy, on the other hand, is a feeling and an attitude of much greater depth. It comes from within, not from circumstances. It's a feeling of deep satisfaction with life. It's also an outlook on life that's closely related to thankfulness.
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Joyful people look at what's right with the world and with the people, instead of what's wrong. They have a special appreciation for all the good they see around them... They see more to be thankful about than to complaint about. They accept life as it is and make the most of it in all circumstances instead of grumbling about the way things ought to be. They find joy both in little things and in grand achievement.
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Did you know: The word "joy" appears at least 155x in the old testament and another 63x in the new testament. The word "rejoice" 32x in the old testament and 18x in the new testament. From this, we can conclude that God wants us to be happy, positive, cheerful, and loving. In other words, joyful.

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it" - Psalms 118:24

Source: anon