Joy comes from the heart
Fear comes from the mind
Joy resides in the inner man, our true self or our spirit whereas fear lives in our soul or our rebellious nature.
Think about it, when we dwell on the negative thoughts and events around us we fall into fear. Our minds gravitate towards the negative most easily, especially in our over stimulated world of tech and media. The entire world system is driven by fear not joy. Even though we seek joy, dread and fear of not attaining it lie just under the surface of our striving to attain joy.
True joy is not the same as happiness. We have conflated the two and have settled for fleeting times of happiness as a salve for the lost joy. Joy comes from inside us, in our spirit, the deep place where we seek and find our connection with Yahweh.
Joy is neither fleeting nor fickle like happiness. It is a well of peace and love which bubbles up from our spirit and overcomes the rising tide of fear. Unlike the downward spiral of fear which drags one down to the depths. Joy lifts us up beyond all the dreadful events and ominous times we live in.
Let us live continuously from our spirit man drawing from the unquenchable source of life within us. The precious gift of the Holy Spirit.