Lesson 77: Joy in Spite of Our Circumstances
That we should have joy in God regardless of circumstances is a command. But we can’t force ourselves to have joy. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Christ said “Come to me all who labor and I will give you rest. I will give you living food and water and you will never be hungry or thirsty”. To have this rest and joy, and to desire God is a battle against our human nature, which doesn’t desire God. To succeed we need to be always in prayer, in His word, attending church, being with other Christians and persisting in this all our lives. The human nature is always trying to convince us to indulge in the immediate desires and gratifications of the flesh.