We are asking that…you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. (Colossians 1:9, 11-12)
In Japan, we have a word people seem to love, “gaman,” which can roughly be translated “endurance.”
When things are hard, we are often told here to “gaman.”
But what struck me is that Paul didn’t want the Colossian Christians to simply “gaman.”
He wanted them to be filled with the joy of God.
The joy of God is what gives us the strength to stand in the hard times.
Without it, “gaman” eventually becomes an impossible burden.
I don’t want to just “gaman” in this Christian life. I want to live in the joy of all God has done for me.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 