Look to the Source

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. —Philippians 4:4

Joy is something that Christians should have. We see it all throughout Scripture. But I think many Christians struggle to understand biblical joy because they’re under the impression that joy is synonymous with happiness. That’s not necessarily the case. It’s hard for them to reconcile having joy in the midst of suffering or while experiencing grief.

So how can you have joy in the middle of suffering? How can you reconcile the two? I think this is where we get our best teaching from the apostle Paul that tells us to look to our Source. It’s not our circumstances that provide the joy. It’s God. Therefore, if our gaze is centered on Him, we can have joy in all things because He’s the Source.

When we look at life through this lens, we gain a deeper understanding of how to have joy in the good, the bad, and the in-between. We can have joy because we know who our Source is, and we have a relationship with Him.