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What’s the Difference Between Joy and Happiness? Granger Smith Explains

Photo from Granger Smith’s Instagram

What’s the Difference Between Joy and Happiness? Granger Smith Explains

By Movieguide® Contributor

Former country star and pastor Granger Smith recently explained the difference between joy and happiness. 

“People misinterpret joy for happiness, and those are not the same things,” he said during an appearance on TBN’s PRAISE. “Happiness, many times, happens upon you, and you express happiness as an emotion. But joy is deeper than an emotion — happiness, sadness, anxiety — joy is different.”

Smith continued, “Joy is a result of a foundational contentment, grounded in and anchored in hope. And then we begin to trust who He is, as He’s revealed Himself in the Bible. And we go, ‘If He has the ending from the beginning, He has all of this plan for me, even through the suffering.’ And we begin to become content in the rocky road of life, in the rollercoaster of all our emotions. And then, through that contentment, we go, ‘I have joy in the contentment, anchored in hope, in the truth of the One who is victorious for me.’”

The former country singer has often spoken about the importance of trusting in God’s plan, even when it’s difficult. 

Smith lost his son, River, in a tragic drowning accident when he was just 3 years old. 

“Losing River was the catalyst to the great breakthrough I had in my life,” Smith said in an interview with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “When I lived through that and stood with my wife, we promised each other that we would find purpose in this pain. Looking back now, we can see God’s hand of providence.”

He continued, “A big-God theology was the only comfort that led to any kind of peace and understanding amidst such a tragedy. God is working all things for his glory and that is the first thing that made sense to me before I was even converted. I never use the word ‘accident’ in the book. I don’t believe in accidents; I believe in providence.”

In an interview with The Christian Post, Smith stressed that “God’s plan will always involve suffering.”

“Pain and suffering draw us nearer to God, and God uses that for many purposes,” he explained. “As a father, I wouldn’t want my children to grow up in a perfect utopia. I want to introduce suffering that I know they can handle so that it produces in them a greater good…so, why wouldn’t a Heavenly Father, who is far superior to anything I could ever imagine as far as planning, nurturing, caring and providing, also introduce suffering into our lives for the greater good or His greater glory? We see this epitomize itself at the cross when Jesus enters humanity in the flesh to involve Himself in suffering. We have a God who is near to the brokenhearted.”

Movieguide® previously reported on Smith’s faith:

Former country singer turned pastor Granger Smith joined Kirk Cameron on TBN to discuss the death of his son, River, and how he found God amid the grief.

“I believe that the amount of grief that you have will always equal the love that you had for that person,” Smith explained when asked if he ever asks God why his son died. “So, if you love a lot, then you’re going to grieve a lot. I struggle a little bit with comparing grief because maybe someone will never go through a loss of a child, but we will all go through it at some point, and early on, by the way, I was a cultural Christian.”

“I wasn’t saved,” he continued. “I thought I was during this time when we lost River, but during that time, I did have a feeling early on that perhaps it’s not the right prayer to only pray for what we wanted — healing and revive this child and give us peace right now. Instead maybe I should be praying for God’s will — God’s purpose — so that I could move forward and take the next steps according to what He needs for me, not what I want. That thought alone will start to eliminate the question of ‘Why, God?’”