Joy comes to a person who lives a life filled with God's grace - enjoying it, being empowered by it, and freely sharing it. But we cannot earn grace and obligate God to give us grace. However, we can certainly create the right conditions - the right state of heart and mind - to find grace when it comes and be ready to receive it. And when we do receive it and use it according to his will, we can enter into a virtuous cycle of grace that will bring us the lasting joy we earnestly seek.