Joy and pain can exist within the same space. That’s why Paul can say “always” and mean just that: “always”. Whatever suffering I am going through, how much I am suffering does not diminish my capacity for joy if it is the joy that is found in Christ: knowing Him, serving Him, relying on Him through prayer, and ultimately being raised with Him.

Joy is the deep satisfaction that comes from both what God has done for us and what God is doing through us as His servants. And the joy of serving God is something that never comes without setbacks and disappointments and sometimes flat out opposition. To have joy, we’ve got to be people who understand our lives as being about holding on to and persevering in that calling and mission for our lives in the face of opposition.

To experience joy, we all have to deal with two great joy-killers in our lives: the temptation to complain and the temptation to argue.

Joy doesn’t come from the things that our culture considers the basis of happiness. Joy comes from the experience of the humility and servanthood of Jesus for me and then living a life of humility and service in response to His humility and service on my behalf.