“And you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. 7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.
1 Shout with joy to God, all the earth! 2 Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. 4 All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.” Selah
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.”
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
“Seeking with faith, hope, and love pleases our Lord; and finding Him pleases the soul, filling it full of joy.” Julian of Norwich
“Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy. Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant- a seed - this plants the giant miracle. The miracle of eucharisto. Do not disdain the small. The whole of the life - even the hard - is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole...There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up.” Ann Voskamp
“It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and a wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians...and I am one of them.” St. Cyprian, 200-258
“Peace is not found when you get into perfect circumstances. Peace is found because Jesus Christ, the Price of Peace, has gotten into you. Joy is the perfect partner to peace and is found in the same way as peace. Joy is never found in what you have or what you do, but in who you have living in you.” Roy Lessin
“Solid joys and lasting treasure none but Zion’s children know.” John Newton
“The weapon of repentance, through rejection of false beliefs and affirmation of godly truth, has changed thousands of lives. Repentance can liberate the mind and destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5) And it can help us discover the wondrous significance we have in Jesus Christ: We are deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing, totally acceptable, and complete in Him. Our journey is a joyous and challenging adventure with Christ.” Robert McGee
“What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God. What, of all the states God ever sees man in, gives Him most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.” J.I. Packer
“God not only offers forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, but wants to lift up these gifts as a source of joy for all who witness them.” Henri Nouwen
“Circumstances do not have the power to steal your joy. Joy is the by-product of experiencing God’s sovereign grace even in the midst of seemingly impossible circumstances.” Anonymous
“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” Leon Bloy
“When faith has the upper hand in my heart I am satisfied with Christ and His promises. This is what Jesus meant when He said, ‘He who believed in Me shall never thirst’ (John 6:35). When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can smell steak sizzling on the grill. The fight of faith against lust is the fight to stay satisfied with God.” John Piper
“You can’t get to joy by making everything perfect. You can only get there by seeing in every imperfection all that’s joy. The joy is in having the Beloved, not in loving what we have.” Ann Voskamp
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires (that is, our ambitions) not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C. S. Lewis
“.....dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.” Charles Wesley