so this joy of mine

Read this, and not because it's written by someone I know. Read it because of the importance of the point it raises. Walk of faith is a walk of joy and light and hope. Lord never compares Himself to darkness. Lord never calls Himself pain or sorrow. Lord never calls Himself shadow. In fact, the opposite for all.

Joyless believers confuse me. Not the ones troubled by howlers and shadows. Those have had their smiles ripped from them by liar and by trial. Speaking only of those not wrestling with darkness. Those joyless ones confuse me. Either the light is not getting through to them, or they're not fully grasping the fullness of the riches of their inheritance. Either way, they don't help the cause.

Over 200 references to joy in Word. Can't even flip through psalms without tripping over joy. And a reason for that. If we're not smiling after all we've gotten, brother, have we got real problems.