For the apostle Paul, the joy of the Lord was his strength.

That strength was particularly obvious when he was in prison. On one occasion he and his friend Silas were expressing their joy by singing praises to God. Suddenly, a massive earthquake opened the doors of the prison cells and the chains of every prisoner fell off.

The earthquake woke the sleeping jailer, who assumed the prisoners had escaped. He drew his sword to kill himself because he knew he would be put to death for letting them escape.

But Paul shouted, “Stop! We are all here!”

The jailer immediately realized that Paul and Silas were truly men of God. So he asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus… along with everyone in your household” (Acts 16:25-34).

The jailer believed in Jesus and he and his entire family were baptized into Christ that very night. Now they could also know and experience the joy of Jesus that Paul had.

When Jesus is your source of joy, even when life is difficult, you will live with joyous peace and serenity because He promises: “You will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22).