JOY in suffering... say what?

So this week I've been dwelling on what true joy is. Growing up I always thought joy and happiness were one in the same. In singing "Joy to the World" at Christmas time (which is less than two months away -- woohoo!) I was always singing about the happiness that comes with Christmas, and nothing more. But turning to scripture and meditating on what it says makes me realize that joy is something far beyond happiness. Romans 5:3 tells us that we "rejoice in our sufferings." When I look back on hard times, times when I lost loved ones or was struggling in school or in a relationship, I was not happy. It's not a natural instinct to be filled with happiness when our world in crumbling around us. 1 Peter 4:13 states that Peter and others rejoiced in knowing that others were suffering for Christ. I can't imagine that wives sit by, overflowing with happiness, as their husbands are imprisoned for professing their faith in Christ, or that the disciples' friends watched with glee as they were crucified for believing in Jesus. But I do believe they were filled with joy. You see, I don't think joy and happiness are correlated any more than sadness and anger are correlated. Often the two emotions come hand in hand, but not always. I think that true joy is something only believers in the true, living God can have. It's the knowledge that He's bigger and more powerful than death, sin and the Devil. And it's the knowledge that He's infinitely good and stays true to His word to use all things for the good of those who love Him. It's the knowledge that, while a loved one may be overcome by cancer, Jesus has overcome the death sentence that comes with that cancer and has the final say with eternal life and healing. It's the knowledge that you must die in order to live, and so, after the world throws everything it can at you, you can stand, and stand firm on the foundation of Christ. It's the ability to let go and say, "Not my will, but Thy will be done," knowing that everything happens for a perfect purpose, even if it doesn't make sense to our peabrain minds. Joy is letting the all-knowing, all-powerful, Agape-loving God have His way in our lives so that He may have all the glory, all the honor and all the power.