Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The lord has done great things for them.” Psalm 126:2

Sounds simple, huh? When you are struggling with the problems life throws at you it’s hard to keep focused and keep rejoicing the Lord for all the great things he has done in our life. But with constant prayer and keeping focused on what’s most important in life you will soon be able to realize that and want to continue rejoicing in the hard times.

Now it’s only been a few weeks since Grandma died and during that time we were all grieving, which is the thing to do when loved one pass, but we seemed to lose focus on the great things that the Lord has done for us in this situation. We came to a better understanding of what cancer is, how the doctors handle it, what Hospice is, and realized what a great life and great friends she had and the impact she made on all of us. And to top it off she is in a way better place than any of us are right now! So how could we not thank God for all of those great things? Truly the good out weighted the bad in many ways!

In John 16:17-33 the Bible talks about how grief will turn to joy. Jesus said “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve but your grief will turn to joy…Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” What a great comfort! God understands that it’s okay to grief but He knows there will be a day that you will have so much joy that no one can take it away!

“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24 To get that great joy He offers you just have to continually pray and ask for it. God wants to see you happy and joyful, not in pain, but you must not let yourself slip away from him and the great plans He has for you! Rejoice him in not only the good and easy times but life gets rough, for that’s when you really need His help and someone sturdy to lean on!