Joy is the absence of anxiety.  The joy of the Lord is the secret of our strength (Nehemiah 8.10).  We lose our joy when we experience anxiety.  This frequently happens when our behavior is in conflict with our ideals.  Many Christians endure joyless lives because their practice in the nitty-gritty situations of life does not conform to what they know God expects of them.  As a consequence they suffer from frustration and face eventual defeat.

Cyril J. Barber, Nehemiah and the Dynamics of Effective Leadership (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1984), 163-164.