Consider it pure joy, my brothers.

"Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without
shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.
You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your
rest in safety,
You will lie down, with no one to make
you afraid,
and many will court your favor,
But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and escape will elude them;
their hope will become a dying gasp."--Job 11:13-20

I think Job pretty much nails it right here in this passage. And by 'it' I mean why and how I have joy in my life. Eternal joy. The why part comes from forgetting my trouble and recalling it "only as waters gone by"... as well as life being brighter and darkness becoming like morning...security because of HOPE...and also why I have eternal joy- things like peaceful rest, safety, and the best yet- NO FEAR. The how part comes from the first line of the passage- "Yet if you devote your heart to him..." and it goes on to such things as turning from sin, dwelling in no evil, being shameless, but seriously the only thing I need to hear is "devote your heart to him"- that's it for me, right there. Because everything that is encompassed in that sentence just falls in to place once you just do that part. Devotion...

de·vo·tion (d-vshn)
n.

1. Ardent, often selfless affection and dedication, as to a person or principle. See Synonyms at love.
2. Religious ardor or zeal; piety.
3. 1. An act of religious observance or prayer, especially when private. Often used in the plural.
   2. devotions Prayers or religious texts: a book of devotions.
4. The act of devoting or the state of being devoted.

Joy is not selfish, it is not what I have but who I am. Happiness is fleeting, but joy is eternal. The opposite of joy is not sorrow. It is selfishness. My youth pastor explained tonight that the opposite of joy is selfishness, not sorrow, because we rob other people the opportunity to see Christ inside of us when we do not choose to be joyful. Joy is a choice. Check this out:

"Consider it PURE JOY, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..."--James 1:2

The perfect example in my own life of this is my story of being stricken with the painful disease called Nephroliathiasis when I was just 13 years old.

Nephrolithiasis

n : the presence of kidney stones (calculi) in the kidney.

Before this happened, I did not understand what it meant to choose joy. I didn't understand what it meant to consider it PURE JOY when I'm lying in a hospital bed wishing for my death, rather than endure any more pain. But you know, years went by and I finally understood that I could have absolutely nothing in this world- I could have no health, no family, no friends, no happiness, but as long as I had Jesus Christ... I have all that I need. I have everything. And that, my friends, is pure, eternal joy.

Love! :-)