Key Bible Verse: Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy (1 Peter 1:8). Bonus Reading: Psalm 16:1-11

Joy isn't the same as jollity—the cheerful exuberance of the life of the party, who can be relied on for jokes and general effervescence. Some Christians are like that; others aren't and never will be. But temperament has nothing to do with joy. One may have a bouncy temperament and yet miss joy, or one may be a low-key fellow with a melancholic streak and yet have joy in abundance. That's good news. However our temperaments differ, joy in the Lord is available to us all.

To readers bogged down in disappointment or frustration, I wish to say two things. First, Christians aren't victims and prisoners of either the past or the present. The powers of forgiveness and new creation are at work in their lives. Before them lies a sure and certain hope of deliverance, transformation, and glory. Joy will someday be theirs in fullest measure.

Second, Christians have larger souls than other people; for grief and joy—like desolation and hope, or pain and peace—can co-exist in their lives in a way non-Christians know nothing about. This doesn't mean that pain ceases to be felt; it means that something else is experienced alongside the hurt.

Depressed people should be told that God offers them joy whatever their situation.

—J.I. Packer in Hot Tub Religion

My Response: How could joy coexist with sorrow for me?

Thought to Apply: Solid joys and lasting treasures, none but Zion's children know.—JOHN NEWTON (English pastor)

Adapted from Hot Tub Religion (Tyndale, 1987) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Teach me, Lord, how to harness Your joy to prevail over contrary circumstances.

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