Obeying that call didn’t mean Fernando was happy about it. It also didn’t mean his family wouldn’t suffer, he realized.

“The thing that came to me very strongly is that the greatest (wealth) we have as Christians and as a family is joy. My wife and I felt the greatest heritage we could give our children was a happy home,” said Fernando, whose son and daughter are now adults. “Happiness does not depend on what happens around us; it’s something the Lord gives you.”

Throughout the book, Fernando reveals the attitudes and actions he believes Christians must embrace to routinely experience joy despite their circumstances. 

• A vital principle is allowing oneself to grieve and talk to God about it.  

“We have this sense that we must always put on this show of being happy people,” Fernando said. “But there are times when we just want to cry. Our lament comes out of the question, ‘If God is sovereign, why should we suffer like this?’ As Christians, we should not be ashamed or afraid to cry, because deep down, we know that God is bigger than our pain.” 

• Another key is learning to fully believe God. 

“When we are hit by things that happen to us that are negative, the thing that is attacked most of all is our trust in God,” Fernando said. “If we can, in our hearts, say that God is good, then we can look at our situations with hope. Until we can, we need to battle for faith. We need to preach to ourselves.”

• Christians also must remain steadfast in their relationships.

“One of the most painful things in life is being committed to people,” he says. “People hurt you because they don’t know how to suffer.  Suffering takes away their security. But when people have gone through pain together, they can experience depths of joy together (over the fact) that they stuck it out through all of the hardships.”

Essentially, Fernando said, accepting the call to joy and pain requires Christians to accept God’s unabashed love.

“The joy of the Lord is knowing that God is thrilled with us,” he said. “It delights Him to see us and care for us. Whatever helps us recognize that God loves us, those are things that are going to help us experience joy in the midst of pain.”

Stacy Hawkins Adams is a freelance writer and Christian fiction author. Her third novel, Watercolored Pearls, was recently released.