Scripture: Philippians 4:10-23
“We tend to think that sorrow and despair are more authentic and real than celebration and joy. The last thing we want to be—or be seen as—is happy-clappy. … Joy is not ‘toxic positivity.’ It does not insist that we pretend things are better than they are. It does not refuse to face grief or sorrow. But it does say that they are not all there is and that they are not all that needs to be faced.”
Tish Harrison Warren, “How to Cultivate Joy Even When It Feels in Short Supply”
“It is more blessed to give than to receive—that’s true. But for needy adults, who in this respect are like sick infants, something of value must be received before anything of value can be given. Receiving always precedes giving. And that never changes. We never outgrow our need to receive. It’s a beautiful thing to witness the humility that receives.”
Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams: God’s Unexpected Path to Joy
“Joy is always all-encompassing; there is nothing of us left over to hate with or to be afraid with, to feel guilty with or to be selfish about. Joy is where the whole being is pointed in one direction, and it is something that by its nature a man never hoards but always wants to share. The second thing is that joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes. Even nailed to a tree.”
Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark
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