8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. 8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
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.
4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.
3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
17 “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
“I realize that I am not used to the image of God throwing a party. It seems to contradict the solemnity and seriousness I have always attached to God. But when I think about the ways in which Jesus describes God’s Kingdom, a joyful banquet is often at its center...This invitation to a meal is an invitation to intimacy with God...Celebration belongs to God’s Kingdom. 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
“Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer’s soul and they promote sanctification. We were not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration, and the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart-warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things and not, as he ought, from the Spirit of God. The soul is so constituted that it craves fulfillment from things outside itself and will embrace earthly joys for satisfaction when it cannot reach spiritual ones... The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ and savoring the felt comforts of a Savior’s presence. When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers... By the enjoyment of the love of Christ in the heart of a believer, we mean an experience of the “love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us” (Rom. 5:5)... because the Lord has made himself accessible to us in the means of grace, it is our duty and privilege to seek this experience from Him in these means till we are made the joyful partakers of it.” John Flavel (1630-1691)
“The root of joy is gratefulness ... It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” David Steindl-Rast
“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
“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 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
“What impression do you want to leave with others if the only thing they have to go on is your countenance, attitude or expression? Sadly, for some of us the message would be ‘unhappy home,’ ‘mad at the world,’ or ‘depressed and downtrodden.’ As believers in Christ, we must not live there. Rather, our lives should reflect whose we are. The Scriptures teach us in Psalm 68:3, ‘...may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.’ If you're a child of the King, then take on an attitude of royalty. Reveal God's presence in your life. Hold your head high, greet others with genuine hospitality and be careful to show loving-kindness to all people. By doing these things, you will become a bold witness for Christ without ever having to open your mouth.” Renee Nail