Dear sisters,
“What makes you happy Colleen?” My husband asked. I thought for a second. After a tough day of the constant training of a tenacious two year old, I do find respite in a frothy latte and a bowl of cookies and cream ice cream. A smile comes to my face as I lounge and indulge in the smoothness of both on my tongue. The delicate delights of this special treat may last that night, but the doleful doldrums of training a sinful heart return in full force the next morning. I feel like in this world I often seek immediate happiness in my circumstances, but what I really desire is a deep lasting joy. But what is joy?
Joy is not contingent on a dessert or massage. As a believer, the Lord commands me to have joy in all circumstances…even ones that are difficult and painful. James writes to dispersed Christians to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”
But how do we do that, sweet sisters? How do we have joy when all our children are crying at once? When a loved one dies? When we have another miscarriage? When our adoption falls through? When we feel as though our marriage is falling apart? Oh, it is tough. It is so tough to choose joy. Yet we are commanded to throughout scripture. The hope we have is that scripture tells us from where true and lasting joy comes. It comes from Christ! When we find our joy in the fact we have been forgiven of our sins and saved from the eternal wrath of God because of what he did on the cross, we have joy! We are thankful Jesus took our ultimate fate of death and gave us eternal life in heaven! That means our trials on earth get put in the proper perspective so even in the sadness of our circumstances, we have a deep joy in our hope in Christ! Even in our disappointments and hardships, we know this world is not our home. Our home is yet to come and sadness, death, tears, fears, and disappointments will all be forgotten!
If that is not encouraging enough, scripture also tells us we find joy in trials as we realize the Lord is drawing us to Himself during these times. He is near to the broken hearted and hears all our cries. He is making us more dependent on Him which is where we want to be. He is shaking off the chaff of our lives, making us more like Christ. He loves us so much that our trials bring us closer to Him, rather than further away. Our trust in the goodness of our Sovereign God in difficult times brings us unadulterated joy!
Oh, live here sister! Choose the joy that only comes from Christ! Don’t settle for the fleeting happiness of a latte or ice cream. Don’t live in the despair of circumstances. Lift your eyes to the heavens where your help comes because in our weakness, He is strong.
Your sister,
Colleen