---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Joy is the realest reality, the fullest…"
description: "\"Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: jo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png"
---

#  Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is…

![“Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.” quote by Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png)

> “Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.”

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Joy is presented as a divine gift that arrives freely, not something we can force, encouraging gratitude and acceptance.

**In simple terms:** Joy is a gift from God, not something we chase.

Key Takeaway

Practice gratitude to receive joy.

Themes

spirituality gratitude joy

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

spiritual inspirational

When to use this quote

- daily prayer
- personal reflection
- community worship

Key Concepts

theology mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it mean to receive joy rather than pursue it?
- How can gratitude open us to joy?

A Different Perspective

Joy may feel elusive when we try to control it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fullest Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fullest-life/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/)

## Related quotes

> [“Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-life-and-joy-is-always-given-2/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/god-gives-gifts-and-i-give-thanks-and-i-unwrap-the-gift-given-joy/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [They say time is money, but that's not true. Time is life. And if I want the fullest life, I need to find fullest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/they-say-time-is-money-but-that-s-not-true-time-is-life-and-if-i-want/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Isn't falling in love always the fullest life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/isn-t-falling-in-love-always-the-fullest-life/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [How do I wake up to joy and grace and beauty and all that is the fullest life when I must stay numb to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/how-do-i-wake-up-to-joy-and-grace-and-beauty-and-all-that-is-the/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [The Holy Spirit gives us joy. And he is joy. Joy is the gift in which all the other gifts are included. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-holy-spirit-gives-us-joy-and-he-is-joy-joy-is-the-gift-in-which/)

[Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/)

> [There is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for Thine own sake, whose joy Thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/there-is-a-joy-which-is-not-given-to-the-ungodly-but-to-those-who/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [“I can't thank God enough for His grace and mercies. I'm full of joy because He has given me a gift of life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/i-can-t-thank-god-enough-for-his-grace-and-mercies-i-m-full-of-joy/)

[Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/)

> [I want to thank all the women who have worn my clothes, the famous and the unknown, who have been so faithful to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-saint-laurent/i-want-to-thank-all-the-women-who-have-worn-my-clothes-the-famous-and/)

[Yves Saint Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-saint-laurent/)

> [Professionally, South has contributed in whatever standing I have. And yes, personally, too, it has given the joy of my life, Sridevi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boney-kapoor/professionally-south-has-contributed-in-whatever-standing-i-have-and/)

[Boney Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boney-kapoor/)

> [“Life is a gift that must be given back and joy should arise from its possession. It's too damn short and that's a fact.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-is-a-gift-that-must-be-given-back-and-joy-should-arise-from-its/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [Until I came out publicly, I wasn't really living my fullest life. I was trying to be who I thought I was supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-deville/until-i-came-out-publicly-i-wasn-t-really-living-my-fullest-life-i/)

[Sonya Deville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-deville/)

> [There is a thinking in primordial images, in symbols which are older than the historical man, which are inborn in him from the earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-thinking-in-primordial-images-in-symbols-which-are-older/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The fullest life is impossible without an immovable belief in a Living Law in obedience to which the whole universe moves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-fullest-life-is-impossible-without-an-immovable-belief-in-a/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I was a boy when I first realized that the fullest life liveable was a Poet's](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/i-was-a-boy-when-i-first-realized-that-the-fullest-life-liveable-was/)

[Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/)

## More by Ann Voskamp

> [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“Trauma's storm can mask the Christ and feelings can lie. I draw all the hurting voices close and I tough their scars with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/trauma-s-storm-can-mask-the-christ-and-feelings-can-lie-i-draw-all/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“How long does it take for your soul to recognize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-soul-to-recognize-that-your-life-is/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“For forty long years, God's people daily eat manna - a substance whose name literally mans 'What is it?' Hungry, they choose to gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/for-forty-long-years-god-s-people-daily-eat-manna-a-substance-whose/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [The real romantics imagine greying and sagging and wrinkling as the deepening of something sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-real-romantics-imagine-greying-and-sagging-and-wrinkling-as-the/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Scales always lie. They don't make a scale that ever told the truth about value, about worth, about significance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/scales-always-lie-they-don-t-make-a-scale-that-ever-told-the-truth/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Darkness transfigures into light, bad transfigures into good, grief transfigures into grace, empty transfigures into full. God wastes nothing – ‘makes everything work out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/darkness-transfigures-into-light-bad-transfigures-into-good-grief/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“And the saddest of all may be when we give away our lives to insignificant things, things we didn’t realize we subconsciously loved. Turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/and-the-saddest-of-all-may-be-when-we-give-away-our-lives-to/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“Satan's sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/satan-s-sin-becomes-the-first-sin-of-all-humanity-the-sin-of/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Simplicity is never a matter of circumstances; simplicity is a matter of focus. So in the midst of educating and parenting our children, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/simplicity-is-never-a-matter-of-circumstances-simplicity-is-a-matter/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Every day, with every word, we get to decide: Do we mar the world, or mark the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/every-day-with-every-word-we-get-to-decide-do-we-mar-the-world-or/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Thanksgiving-giving thanks in everything-prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/thanksgiving-giving-thanks-in-everything-prepares-the-way-that-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/practice-is-the-hardest-part-of-learning-and-training-is-the-essence/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [Every moment I live, I live bowed to something. And if I don't see God, I'll bow down before something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/every-moment-i-live-i-live-bowed-to-something-and-if-i-don-t-see-god/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

[Explore all 390 Ann Voskamp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

## More Given quotes

> [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/)

[Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [A low-minded person should not be given good advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-low-minded-person-should-not-be-given-good-advice/)

[Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/)

> [The old charters of Massachusetts, Virginia, and the Carolinas had given title to strips of territory extending from the Atlantic westward to the Pacific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bushnell-hart/the-old-charters-of-massachusetts-virginia-and-the-carolinas-had/)

[Albert Bushnell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bushnell-hart/)

> [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/)

[Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/)

> [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/)

[Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/)

> [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/)

[Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/)

> [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/)

[Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/)

> [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Music is one of the ways by which you can know everything which is going on in the world. You can feel... through music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-one-of-the-ways-by-which-you-can-know-everything-which-is/)

[Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/)

> [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/)

[Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/)

> [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/)

[Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/)

> [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [God has given believers the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all the world, and we need to use all at our disposal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-epp/god-has-given-believers-the-responsibility-of-spreading-the-gospel-to/)

[Theodore Epp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-epp/)

Browse all 10,948 Given quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ann Voskamp"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-life-and-joy-is-always-given/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Given"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-life-and-joy-is-always-given/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/ann-voskamp-729_given_joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-l_1238037.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I…” — Ann Voskamp",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ann Voskamp",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Joy is the realest reality, the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-life-and-joy-is-always-given/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/joy-is-the-realest-reality-the-fullest-life-and-joy-is-always-given/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
