- Dr. Thomas Maple
Happiness is an emotional state that is the product of your situation. You have felt happy at times, but unhappy at other times. You want to keep that happy feeling all of the time, but you can't because your situation is constantly changing and you will never have complete control of your situation.
A state of joy and peace is far more desirable.
We tend to speak of joy and peace as separate states, but they are, in fact, inseparable. Is it possible to have joy if you have no peace? It is not. Wouldn't having peace give you joy? It would. Therefore, we might refer to joy and peace as one state, such as "joy-peace."
Joy-peace is a greater emotion than happiness. Joy-peace does not leave you when your situation worsens. Joy-peace comes from choosing to believe in your creator and choosing to commit to making your relationship with God the top priority of every day that you have on this earth.
Start with embracing these words from Psalm 46 of the Holy Bible: "Be still, and know that I am God." Then, read a gospel account (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and embrace that news as if your joy-peace depends upon it . . . because it does.
If you would like to explore the possibility of receiving the professional psychotherapy services of our psychologist Dr. Thomas Maple to help your faith drive thoughts, emotions, and behavior, please contact us. Thank you.