While Christians have plenty to be joyful about, there are times that we misunderstand what joy is. It is often used as a synonym for happiness, so when bad times hit, we think that we’re failing because we’re not happy. Jennifer Michelle Greenberg seeks to dispel that in Defiant Joy by sharing what joy actually is and where it really comes from.

No one will argue that Christians should be joyful, but what that means has been debated frequently. It is something that I have been looking into for the last several years. I knew plastering a smile on my face did not fit with what I understood about joy, so this book caught my attention as soon as I found out about it. In it, Greenberg writes that not only will we face sorrow, it is acceptable to be sad. Jesus, Himself, endured sorrow. The reason that sorrow does not dampen true joy is that joy comes from God. We do not make it or build it up. It is a gift that we receive with our faith, which is a gift itself.

This book is a great read for anyone that is facing a hard time. Even though I have not faced the same history that Greenberg has, I understand the idea of trying to build up joy artificially. The encouragement to turn to God to find joy is a refreshing idea that needs to be told more often, especially to those who are new in the faith.

I was provided with a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.