Proverbs 15:13

I LOVE Proverbs! There aren’t too many many places where several verses of Scripture go together, though. It’s like great one liners that you’d quote from a movie.

You all know how I feel about happiness and the difference between it and joy, but I couldn’t leave this verse out. Here are some differences in Bible versions:

NLT & ESV say “glad heart”

NIV says “happy heart”

NKJV says “merry heart”

All of those can also be equated with joy. When your heart is full of joy- it shows on your face.

One of my new friends here, Jennifer W, talks about how she can't “turn her face off”. If something happens at work, she might not say a word, but people can tell her reaction in her face. That's what this means. Joy makes your face shine!

On the flip side of that, heartache or a broken heart does the opposite. As it is crushing a person's spirit, it can be seen on their face or like a dark cloud hanging over them. Do you remember Tigger and Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh? They came to my mind. Tigger is joyful and Eeyore is always sad and negative.

Thankfully, as Christians, we can tell that sadness to go away and we can tap into the joy of the LORD in us! We don’t have to allow anything dark to follow us. We can send it away in Jesus name!