Joy isn’t the absence of hard circumstances. It’s the presence of something deeper.

We all know what it’s like to lose joy when life doesn’t go the way we hoped. When someone else gets the opportunity, the promotion, the attention, or the success we wanted.

But lasting joy isn’t built on comparison or circumstances. It’s grown by the Holy Spirit as we learn to receive life as a gift, embrace our place in God’s story, and make much of Jesus instead of ourselves.

Because joy doesn’t fade when its source doesn’t change.