Can you remember a time or an activity or a place or a person that gave you a feeling of joy? It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it? Joy has a way of bringing laughter, peace, contentment, and well-being. Some people seem to have more joy than others. Some of us experience it throughout the day, some once in a while, and others—sadly—rarely. 

For those who experience joy only occasionally or rarely, when times are tough, as they are now, joy may appear more elusive than ever. It may even seem impossible to feel joy. And yet, the fact is that joy is an attribute of God and is as real and permanent, immortal and eternal, as God Himself. And it’s included in everyone’s spiritual makeup as a child of God, for according to Genesis 1:26 and 27, man (each of us) is made in His image and likeness. 

Granted, this concept of joy as permanent and inherent in each of us is a radical departure from how joy is commonly viewed. And when circumstances in one’s life suggest there’s little to be joyful about, it may be very challenging to accept the idea that joy is innate and constant rather than a fleeting emotion that depends on how things are going. But a view of existence as material and filled with ups and downs is not the true view of life. In fact, it’s the very antipode of life evolved from God, who is Life itself as well as divine Spirit, Truth, and Love. Mary Baker Eddy writes in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual understanding and the consciousness of man’s dominion over the whole earth” (p. 14).