--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Desire joy and thank God for it. Renounce…" description: "\"Desire joy and thank God for it. Renounce it, if need be, for other's sake. That's joy beyond joy.\" — Robert Browning" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/robert-browning-734_desire_desire-joy-and-thank-god-for-it-renounce_2139428.png" --- # Desire joy and thank God for it. Renounce it, if need be… ![“Desire joy and thank God for it. Renounce it, if need be, for other's sake. That's joy beyond joy.” quote by Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/robert-browning-734_desire_desire-joy-and-thank-god-for-it-renounce_2139428.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/robert-browning-734_desire_desire-joy-and-thank-god-for-it-renounce_2139428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/robert-browning-734_desire_desire-joy-and-thank-god-for-it-renounce_2139428.png) > “Desire joy and thank God for it. Renounce it, if need be, for other's sake. That's joy beyond joy.” [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True joy comes from gratitude, and sometimes sacrificing personal desire for others’ benefit. **In simple terms:** Joy is deeper when shared and sometimes given up. Key Takeaway Practice gratitude, consider others’ needs. Themes gratitude self‑sacrifice joy spirituality humility Mood reflective peaceful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - volunteering - personal reflection - celebrations Key Concepts philosophical ethical emotional Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal joy with helping others? - What does “joy beyond joy” mean to you? A Different Perspective Joy can be fleeting if not balanced with self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-joy-2862408/) [God Renounce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-renounce-4447652/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy Thank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-thank-728893/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Renounce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renounce/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Thank god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thank-god/) ## Related quotes > [Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy, thank you for loving me and receiving my love in return. Thank you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/thank-you-for-coming-into-my-life-and-giving-me-joy-thank-you-for/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“This is not a goodbye, my darling, this is a thank you. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy, thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-not-a-goodbye-my-darling-this-is-a-thank-you-thank-you-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be with God is really to be involved in some enormous, overwhelming desire, and joy, and power which you cannot control, which controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/to-be-with-god-is-really-to-be-involved-in-some-enormous-overwhelming/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“You can desire joy, and hope for it, but joy has a mind of its own and won’t let itself be pressured or stressed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matias-dalsgaard/you-can-desire-joy-and-hope-for-it-but-joy-has-a-mind-of-its-own-and/) [Matias Dalsgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matias-dalsgaard/) > [“Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, expresses it this way: “To desire my joy is to desire the joy of the one I desire: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-hill/rowan-williams-archbishop-of-canterbury-expresses-it-this-way-to/) [Wesley Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-hill/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/god-is-pursuing-with-omnipotent-passion-a-worldwide-purpose-of/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [I would be killed by an atheistic government which was trying to force me to renounce my God-fearing government. I was convinced that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-denton/i-would-be-killed-by-an-atheistic-government-which-was-trying-to/) [Jeremiah Denton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-denton/) > [The mind which renounces, once and for ever, a futile hope, has its compensation in ever-growing calm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/the-mind-which-renounces-once-and-for-ever-a-futile-hope-has-its/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/we-honor-revelation-too-highly-to-make-it-the-antagonist-of-reason-or/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [Renounce all those material things that you gained by exploiting other human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chapman/renounce-all-those-material-things-that-you-gained-by-exploiting/) [Tracy Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chapman/) > [I call a man a sannyasin who breaks out of these institutions and lives spontaneously. To be a sannyasin is the most courageous act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/i-call-a-man-a-sannyasin-who-breaks-out-of-these-institutions-and/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milarepa/all-worldly-pursuits-have-but-one-unavoidable-and-inevitable-end/) [Milarepa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milarepa/) > [The greatest temptation for the like of us is: to renounce violence, to repent, to make peace with oneself. Most revolutionaries fell before this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-greatest-temptation-for-the-like-of-us-is-to-renounce-violence-to/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) ## More by Robert Browning > [I would have rummaged, ransacked at the word; Those old odd corners of an empty heart; For remnants of dim love the long disused,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/i-would-have-rummaged-ransacked-at-the-word-those-old-odd-corners-of/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“One who never turned his back but marched breast forward, never doubted clouds would break, never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/one-who-never-turned-his-back-but-marched-breast-forward-never/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [All service ranks the same with God,- With God, whose puppets, best and worst, Are we: there is no last nor first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/all-service-ranks-the-same-with-god-with-god-whose-puppets-best-and/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“Have you found your life distasteful? My life did and does smack sweet. Was your youth of pleasure wasteful? Mine I save and hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/have-you-found-your-life-distasteful-my-life-did-and-does-smack-sweet/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [“I was ever a fighter, so---one fight more, The best and the last! I would hate that death bandaged my eyes and forbore, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/i-was-ever-a-fighter-so-one-fight-more-the-best-and-the-last-i-would/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [But how carve way i' the life that lies before, If bent on groaning ever for the past?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/but-how-carve-way-i-the-life-that-lies-before-if-bent-on-groaning/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [If you get simple beauty and naught else, you get about the best thing God invents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/if-you-get-simple-beauty-and-naught-else-you-get-about-the-best-thing/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [How good is man's life, the mere living! How fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/how-good-is-man-s-life-the-mere-living-how-fit-to-employ-all-the/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Oh, to be in England Now that April's there, And whoever wakes in England Sees, some morning, unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/oh-to-be-in-england-now-that-april-s-there-and-whoever-wakes-in/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [The ultimate, angels' law, Indulging every instinct of the soul There where law, life, joy, impulse are one thing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/the-ultimate-angels-law-indulging-every-instinct-of-the-soul-there/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/grow-old-along-with-me-the-best-is-yet-to-be-the-last-of-life-for/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, lest you should think he never could recapture the first fine careless rapture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/that-s-the-wise-thrush-he-sings-each-song-twice-over-lest-you-should/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Look not down but up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/look-not-down-but-up/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [What a thing friendship is - World without end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/what-a-thing-friendship-is-world-without-end/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Silence 'tis awe decrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/silence-tis-awe-decrees/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) [Explore all 386 Robert Browning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Desire joy and thank God for it. Renounce it, if need be, for other's sake. 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