Psalm 4:7 KJV
[7] Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
There is a joy that does not come from material riches, possessions.
Psalm 21:1 KJV
[1] The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord ; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
Being saved from God's wrath causes much joy.
Analogy.
You are desperately poor. Living under a bridge, with almost nothing to eat, wearing only worn-out clothes. But you have the winning lottery ticket in your hand. You have not collected the multimillion dollar prize yet. But soon you will. You are still just as poor as before winning the lottery. Yet you are so much more glad than before.
Another analogy.
You have a rock in your shoe when you are informed you have been cured of terminal cancer. The rock is still there, and it still hurts. But the relief of being cured of cancer overwhelms that.
These are somewhat like the joy of the Lord. Regardless of how hopeless your circumstances are, your greatest trouble in life has been taken away. You have been saved from the just wrath of God.
"...Paul's purpose is to instruct us how to produce the sustained sense of well-being that should mark a Christian's life. When a person feels good about life, about who and what he is, what he is doing with his life, and where it is headed, a sense of joy is always present. Paul's instructions are timeless in producing this."
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: JOY by John W. Ritenbaugh
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