The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to see, we have only to look. I beseech you to look.
Joy
James MacDonald
Georgian Banov
The revelation of what Jesus did for us at the cross launches us into His joy, and His joy is the secret weapon of every believer. By serving Him with joy and gladness of heart, the joy that is in Him shields us from the enemy’s fiery darts of sorrow and depression. This joy not only strengthens us, it also gives us courage, making us bold and brave.
Winkey Pratney
Often almost unnoticed in Scripture is the one Divine thing that cannot be counterfeited in life. While various forms of false fun and many prevailing perversions of pleasure are sought as proposed purposes for enjoyment, none of these can bring what will be finally seen as something most fundamentally supernatural. It does not depend on circumstance. It transcends any human expectation from any exterior provision. It may function in the most frightful onslaughts of fear, a formidable enemy fury or ongoing furnace of pain. It is joy.
John Calvin
Rick Warren
He gave us taste buds, then filled the world with incredible flavors like chocolate and cinnamon and all the other spices. He gave us eyes to perceive color and then filled the world with a rainbow of shades. He gave us sensitive ears and then filled the world with rhythms and music. Your capacity for enjoyment is evidence of God’s love for you. He could have made the world tasteless, colorless, and silent. The Bible says that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” He didn’t have to do it, but he did, because He loves us.
Alexander MacLaren
No flower can bloom in Paradise which is not transplanted from Gethsemane. No one can taste of the fruit of the tree of life, that has not tasted of the fruits of the tree of Calvary. The crown is after the cross.