Joy Runs Deep
Where are you being invited to lean into joy?
Psalm 126:3
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Joy and happiness are often treated as interchangeable, but they are different. Happiness is often tied to circumstances—moments when life feels easy, light, or free of struggle. But joy runs deeper; it is a steady, quiet assurance that God is at work, even when life is hard.
Psalm 126 proclaims, “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy,” reminding us that joy flows not from present ease but from remembering God’s faithfulness in the past and trusting God’s promises for the future. Even in the midst of pain, loss, or uncertainty, joy can rise as a holy defiance against despair. It does not deny sorrow but holds it alongside hope.
To rejoice in such times is not naïve; it is courageous—a declaration that brokenness is not the end of the story. Joy sustains us when happiness fades, rooting us in God’s goodness and possibility.
Where are you being invited to lean into joy?
— Pepa Paniagua