Good news!

Happiness does not equal Joy.

Joy comes from God and cannot be taken away.  The joy of the Lord comes from the good news, the promise, Jesus.  This is always present, even when we aren't happy. 

Joy comes because we know where we are going.  We are secure in our faith and love of Jesus.  Heaven.

In Biblical times, going home meant going to a place they'd never lived.  (This brought to mind current immigration policies and processes.) 

Then she spoke about crop rotation programs and rest years.  Just as crop rotation is important now, it was in Biblical times now.  The 7th year is the rest year and the 50th year, a rest year, is the year of jubilee!  The year of jubilee is good news for sinners, but bad news for the greedy, rich and powerful because after 50 years the land goes back to the original owners, debts are forgiven, win is forgiven. 

Freedom for prisoners is spiritual, no the physical.  Slavery today is a terrible problem called human trafficking.  Just as addition is a big problem today that starts with prescription drugs often. 

We must be SPIRITUALLY ALIVE.

I think my notes in some places are missing the link that ties it all together, but JOY can filter through all these situations.