15 What has happened to all your joy?
“For the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. 22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
13 I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”
1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. 2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
“The root of joy is gratefulness… It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” David Steindl-Rast
“The world around us is training us to think we need more to be more joyful, when the truth is, if we’d just daily train ourselves to be more thankful, we get to be infinitely more joyful. The more we need — is more thankfulness.” Ann Voskamp
“Joy does not come from positive predictions about the state of the world. It does not depend on the ups and downs of the circumstances of our lives. Joy is based on the spiritual knowledge that, while the world in which we live is shrouded in darkness, God has overcome the world. Jesus says it loudly and clearly: ‘In the world you will have troubles, but rejoice, I have overcome the world.’ The surprise is not that, unexpectedly, things turn out better than expected. No, the real surprise is that God’s light is more real than all the darkness, that God’s truth is more powerful than all human lies, that God’s love is stronger than death.” Henri Nouwen
“You miss out on fully living the joy of your life, when you keep waiting for another life to make you joyful.” Ann Voskamp
“In a command to ‘be joyful,’ self-discipline isn’t the goal. It isn’t an effective response or even a realistic one. We can’t change our hearts simply by telling them to change. We can, however, realize that our attitudes are off-kilter and ask Him to supernaturally change them. He holds hearts in His hand; He can certainly sway them with His thoughts and fill them with His Spirit. If we are going to be people who are always joyful, this is how it has to be. We can’t follow this instruction in the midst of trying circumstances unless we have a radical change of perspective and supernatural help. Biblical commands to rejoice – especially in suffering, persecution, and the intense trials of life – can only be fulfilled when we depend on Him.” Chris Tiegreen
“The perspective he gives me in my low place has helped me see His love more clearly. Habakkuk had that view too. He said, ‘Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren… yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!’ (Habakkuk 3:17-18 NLT) We can rejoice when our perspective changes even if our problems don’t. Habakkuk didn’t rejoice because his problems changed; he rejoiced because his perspective changed. God lifted His lowly prophet to ‘tread on the heights’ with Him. (Habakkuk 3:19) And God will do that for you too. He will love you through your low place. If you find yourself in a low place, don’t assume it’s a waste of time, or a waste of your life or a waste of an opportunity. Instead, do what Habakkuk did –climb the watchtower of your faith, one wobbly step at a time and seek an answer from the God who loves you. If He doesn’t give you an answer – or an answer you want – it’s because He wants to give you something far better – a greater sense of purpose, time in His presence, and a new perspective. When you climb toward God, you see your life from God’s view. And, from that place, you may still see rubble, but, you may just rejoice at the sight knowing that God’s loving purpose is right there! ‘For He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).’” Jennifer Rothschild
“What is your personal version of: this shouldn’t have happened. Frankly, dear reader, I’m sure something that ‘shouldn’t have’ has happened to you. Because we live in a broken world. Therefore, since life as we know it is inherently flawed and culture is a poor conduit of true, soul-satisfying happiness, where does that leave us? Is it possible for happiness, sadness, and even ‘badness’ to coexist? And if so, how do we orient our lives to be authentically joyful while not ignoring or becoming immune to the calamity and chaos around us and sometimes in us? The key to hanging on to our happy—our deep sense of fulfillment, contentment, and delight—when horrible things happen is to recognize this: Real, God-imbued happiness is not the absence of sadness or badness. Rather, it is hanging on to the truth of His sovereign goodness regardless of what’s going on within or around us. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that happy and sad are not mutually exclusive. Delight and despair absolutely coexist. They ebb and flow like the tides. Grief may surge while happy hangs back a bit, and vice versa. However, in Christ, each wholly exists in the heart of mankind. Circumstances may prompt one to rise to the occasion and eclipse the other for a while. And our personality bent may compel us to manifest one more readily than the other. But the proverbial bucket that dips into the well of our souls has the potential to scoop up both genuine joy and profound sorrow.” Lisa Harper
"We can find optimism in this life when Christ lives within us. We can find joyful hope when we put our relationship with Christ first and spend regular time fellowshipping with Him in prayer. A close relationship with God will give us joy in the midst of trouble, victory in times of temptation, fruitfulness and blessings in times of uncertainty. A solid prayer life will give us confidence when everything else is crumbling around us.” Michael Youssef
“Those who are ‘beloved of the Lord’ must be the most happy and joyful people to be found anywhere upon the face of the earth.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“The Christian life is a joyful life. Christianity was never meant to be something to make people miserable. The ministry of Jesus Christ was one of joy. The Bible teaches that a life of inward peace and outward victory is a Christian’s birthright. ‘What a witness to the world Christians would be,’ wrote Amy Carmichael, ‘if only they were more evidently very happy people.’ Joy is one of the marks of a true believer. Will others see the joy of Christ in your life today?” Billy Graham