What is JOY?
Let’s look at biblical joy and God’s faithfulness
I’m glad you’re here! Let’s chat a little about joy and rejoice over God’s faithfulness!
Unexpected callings
Pause and think for a moment: When was the last time God surprised you?
Maybe He amazed you with…
…fresh meaning overflowing from an already familiar verse
…an unexpected affirmation that He is using you for His glory
…a calling accomplished only through His equipping and sustaining.
Or maybe He caught your attention with something as simple as an extra burst of sweetness in your morning berries that prompted a grateful smile upward.
Whatever the memory, you felt joy in that interaction with your Lord!
But what about the unexpected struggles God allows? Can we truly find joy in the disruptions caused by health issues, job situations, family problems, or financial strains?
I don’t say this lightly, but yes! We can live with joy regardless of circumstances…although it just might require a different understanding of joy.
What is joy?
After much research on the subject, Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King, a Christian psychologist and executive director of the Thrive Center for Human Development, states that “joy is most fully understood as a virtue that involves our thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to what matters most in our lives.”(1) She defines joy in the following way:
This definition is not new to those who have been through the Bible study God led me to write, Well-Worn Paths: Treading Paths of Joy Through a Study of Philippians. By the end of a deep dive into the book of Philippians–and many other scriptures that testify to joy–we knew “joy is not a downward concentration on current circumstances, but an upward and outward devotion to what maintains long-term value. It does not come and go, but is rooted in the truth of who God is and displayed as evidence of His Spirit in us.”(2)
What a blessing to know God has made a way for us to have joy even in pain and sorrow. Admittedly, biblical joy may not always look like the “bubbly” emotion we often picture in our minds. Still, the purposeful choice to bend our responses toward steadfast faith in Christ’s sufficiency–with the help of the Holy Spirit–makes “rejoicing in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4) achievable.
Well-Worn Paths
Does a fresh perspective of joy sound appealing to you? If so, let me encourage you to use Well-Worn Paths to dive deep into the topic of joy and the book of Philippians. God is using this study that He so surprisingly laid on my heart! You can read responses from a few ladies who have completed the study in the graphic below.
Or, if you have already been through Well-Worn Paths and are wondering how it’s going, please rejoice with me in the feedback. These are powerful testimonies to God’s faithfulness as He uses His Word to accomplish His purpose (Is. 55:11). (Also, if you haven’t left a review on Amazon yet, please feel free to do so here. It really does make a difference in others being able to find the study so God can continue to use it.)
Comments like these are both humbling and overwhelming as I see God use Well-Worn Paths to draw women closer to Him and to glorify His name.
If you know someone who is looking for a women’s Bible study for an individual or group this fall (or even next spring!), please share this email with them. A 2-page overview with links to sample lessons, sample leader notes, and other information about Well-Worn Paths is available here. Let’s work together to encourage more women to tread paths of joy in Philippians as they make joy a delightful habit!
A special word in closing
In closing, I want to turn this letter in a different direction. School starts this week for most districts in Texas. As an educator for more than 25 years, I know this week is exciting, tiring, hard, unsteady, uplifting, and a whole lot of other adjectives all at one time! Please pause a moment and pray for all those involved in the education system–adults and students. Specifically, may those who are Christians draw others to Christ through rejoicing in the confident expectation we have in Christ, standing steadfastly under the weight of tribulation, and being constant in prayer (Rom. 12:12). Amen.
Thank you for praying. I know there are many who appreciate it.
If you want to share a comment about joy, Well-Worn Paths, prayer, or a special memory about the start of school, please do so below. I would love to read your thoughts!
Until next time, may you find “enduring, deep delight in what holds the most significance.”(3) In other words, may you know true joy!
©2025 Catherine L Hill. All rights reserved.
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1 Link to interview with Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King
2 Catherine L Hill, Well-Worn Paths: Treading Paths of Joy Through a Study of Philippians (Self-published, 2024), 235.
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