Experiencing joy is a long-term process — a journey toward maturity as we begin to be aware of those thoughts and worries that would steal our joy.

The more we practice taking all of our troubled thoughts captive, the more easily we will recognize them before they take hold in our heart. Practice and discipline provide strength training for our mental muscles and heart responses.

So walking in the reality of joy is a road we truly find only as we mature and become stronger. The more consistently we follow that path — believing in God's goodness and turning away from Satan's taunts — the more the habit to submit to the Lord and trust him becomes second nature.

Read more about this in Dancing With My Heavenly Father.