For what thanksgiving can we render again to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God;
for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes: "Joy wherewith we joy" is a "Hebrew way of expressing tremendous, superlative joy" (Fields 90). Paul is the last person one would expect to hear speaking of joy. Driven from Thessalonica and elsewhere by persecution, separated from brethren whom he passionately desired to see, hindered in his plans by Satan, one would expect him to be despondent and embittered. Yet he has learned the secret that joy is not dependent upon outward circumstances but upon internal conviction. Indeed, "it is experience of sorrow that enlarges the capacity of the heart for joy" (Hogg and Vine 100). Dark clouds always make the return of the sunshine more glorious.