Yes, joy can be a shout of praise. But it can also be a deep satisfaction of a clear conscience as you go to bed, knowing that you’ve lived in a way pleasing to yourself and to God.

Joy doesn’t have to be a belly laugh or a clicking of the heels…it can be the peace in knowing that you’ve been a “plus” instead of a “minus” in the grading of a day’s work, or in a smile that may lift another person to a higher plane.

It can be a state of pleasure…a satisfactory state of mind, or the comfort that whatever happens here, that you have the promise of Heaven by simply believing in the Christ.

Any former Boy Scout will remember that one of his goals is to “do a good turn daily.” It’s a worthy aim of every person, because you can make the world better, even with this one small step. Because you never know what a kindly act, however small, may do for the heart of another person. In the past, I gave you a Christmas story, about a young girl who got on a city bus, shivering in the cold, and other passengers felt for her, wondering what they could do to ease her burden. Then, as a young man got off the bus, he dropped his gloves in her lap and walked on. It was the kind of act that Christ Himself might have done. And in fact, by doing this, the boy did it “unto Christ.” (paraphrase Matthew 25:45).

Joy, in whatever context, is a product of living for Christ, safe from the clutches of that evil one. Think about it.