“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. Gal 5: 22-23
Our source of joy, delight, gladness, does not come from being happy, but it’s much deeper than that. It comes from knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit. We experience joy when the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, and makes the knowledge of Christ manifest in our spirit.
When we encounter troubles, the scriptures teach us to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Romans 15:13. Never forget that “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).