I found myself in the middle of this word puzzle searching for faith, the word “faith”, that is. In the midst of the chaos and distraction of the other letters, there I found it and drew a circle around it. Next I found “joy”.

This is how it happens in the life of a believer. We find faith in the middle of all of life’s problems, and then somewhere along the way, we find joy following after. What’s the connection between faith and joy?

People often ask “Why Jesus?” It’s simple, really. He is where the joy is. A believer’s experience of Christ’s unconditional love is complete joy in its purest form.

There’s an astounding connection between faith and joy in Scripture, and it holds true today. Increase your faith in the promises of God, and watch your joy increase to the same effect. I am a living testimony of this. It’s undeniable that as my faith in God increases so does my joy as well as my peace.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Not financial stability, not family, not even the notion of “having it all together”—no it’s the joy of the Lord that will get you through anything; it’s the joy of the Lord that cannot be taken away from you.

Fear, anxiety, sadness, and despair are not the antithesis to joy. In fact, these emotions can exist alongside joy. We can be anxious and afraid or feel hurt yet still have joy in the Lord and His promises. Our circumstances cannot steal our joy if our joy is truly found in the Lord.

Fear, anxiety, and sadness are not sin; these are emotions Jesus Himself felt. I think people get confused and think if they’re truly on the right path, they will be able to bypass these feelings, and that’s just not true. God works everything out for the good of those that love Him. God uses these emotions for our good if we let Him. Fear, anxiety, and sadness are meant push us closer to God as we choose to lean on Him and allow Him to carry our burdens. That is, God uses that which the enemy intended to destroy us for good. Our joy cannot be taken from us so long as we have faith that God works everything out for our good, as He tells us He does.

So if you find yourself searching for joy, find faith first and there your joy will be.