Webster’s defines Joy as a noun and part of our “happiness”. Paul turns this thought upside down and brings us Joy as a Fruit or an “action” of the spirit toward others. A servant of God in Jesus Christ finds Joy in serving others. It is a servant’s heart that looks out not in for true Joy that abides in our spirits regardless of circumstances. Happiness is not a part of that Joy, only a love for others built on a foundation that God loved us not because we first loved Him but because we needed to beloved. Our confession of faith in Jesus provides us mercy in freeing us from sin and the Grace of the promise of our resurrection into an eternal life in heaven. It is in that Joy that we find both Hope and Peace in times of struggle, it is in that Joy that we reach out to help others when we are need ourselves and it is in that Joy that our hearts are filled with the presence of Gods truth and feel it guiding our lives. We come to find Joy as an action where our lives are an expression of Joy that we cannot quite define or explain but only know that how we live from our faith is the measure of Joy in our lives.