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The Bible says that God's people should be filled with joy, but how does this work if we're distressed or grieving? In this episode, John Bailey and Mark Renfroe discuss how abundant life doesn't mean ignoring hardship, but it should give us a buoyancy through suffering that those without Christ would envy.

Key Points from the Podcast

  • Maintaining joy will not be easy, especially when difficult circumstances come our way.

  • Paul reminded the Thessalonians that as Christians we don’t mourn like the rest of the world but with hope.

  • We can have joy even when we’re going through hard times because we know that God loves us, is with us, and will see us through.

  • Having joy does not mean glossing over feelings of sorrow. We must give proper room to deal with what we are truly feeling.

  • If we are experiencing true joy, then it will manifest itself as genuine happiness.

  • Christians who live happy and holy are a great witness for Christ.

  • James exhorted the church to consider it an opportunity for great joy when troubles come our way.

  • As a follower of Jesus, no matter what difficulty you may face, you can rest in the assurance that in Christ you are eternally right before God.

  • If you are walking through a difficult season, find fellow believers who can walk with you. We aren’t meant to live life alone.

  • One of the best ways to experience joy is to rejoice even when we don’t feel like it. Paul told the church in Philippi to rejoice always.

Bible Verses Referenced in the Podcast

Psalm 16:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; John 15:11; James 1:2; Genesis 2:18; Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 4:4

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast

About John Bailey

Pastor John Bailey serves as the Chief Operating Officer at World Challenge. John came to know Christ in jail after some difficult struggles as a young man, and God has done a powerful work of transformation since! Spending 13 years in Next Gen ministry, he excelled in discipleship and helping young leaders discover giftings to serve God. John was called next to serve as a missionary and pastor in Western Europe. John and his family then returned to plant the Springs Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Today, the church is a thriving body of believers excelling in outreach and missions. John has now brought his giftings and vision to World Challenge, accelerating the spread of the gospel in America and around the World.

About Mark Renfroe

Mark married his college sweetheart, Amy, with whom he has four adult children—one girl and three boys. The Renfroes have been involved in field missions work for 30 years. They served in the Arab community of San Francisco for four years before becoming foreign missionaries in 1995. Mark was asked to serve as the Area Director for Assemblies of God World Missions in 2007. As part of his role, he led missionaries and interfaced with national church leaders in the 18 countries of the Arab World. In 2017, Mark created Reaching Africa’s Muslims, an initiative to mobilize, equip, and deploy indigenous African missionaries to reach Muslims on the continent. Mark has graduate degrees in Intercultural Studies and Executive Leadership. He currently serves as the Chief Missions Officer for World Challenge in Colorado Springs.