An excerpt from "Words of Faith, Hope & Love" entitled, "What is Joy in the Bible?" states: "Biblical joy comes from the Lord. It is a perpetual gladness of the heart that comes from knowing, experiencing, and trusting Jesus. Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “joy, in other words, is the response and the reaction of the soul to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Moreover, biblical joy is not based on our possessions or circumstances like worldly joy. Warren Wiersbe defines joy as “that inward peace and sufficiency that is not affected by outward circumstances.” It, of course, doesn’t mean Christians must never feel or express their pain. The Christian life is wrought with afflictions, and like the psalmists, we should express our grief and pour out our hearts to God.
However, even during our difficult times, we can still choose to have joy because of our hope in Christ. Paul exemplified joy in suffering throughout his ministry. Though he was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and more, he still had joy. He called it “being full of sorrow and yet rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10) and said in 2 Corinthians 7:4 “in all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy." This article may be viewed at: What is Joy in the Bible?/wordsoffaithhopelove.com
Reference: Philippians 1:25
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