Trouble and Joy

Every day is filled with its own troubles.  Jesus told us not to be surprised.  (Matthew 6:34)  For some reason most of us us have a tendency to grab hold of the troubles and exert all kinds of energy in talking about them, but hardly see that life is filled too with the things which bring joy into our lives.  Jesus also spoke about this as He said, "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.:  (John 15:11)  Any believer in Christ who knows no joy in their daily walk might want to re-examine the connection which joins them to Him.      

Joy is not some giddy emotional feeling which creates a constant smile and an ever present belly laugh, but an attitude which enables us to live midst the troubles of today with a spirit of gratitude.  Where there is no joy, there is no gratitude for gratitude is one of the fruits of joy.  It is a hard thing for some to fathom, but the reality which Christ puts into our heart is one which points to good always triumphing over evil and dancing always taking the place of mourning.      

The Psalmist put it all together in such wonderful form when he said, "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning."  (Psalm 30:5)  It is a Word which we sometimes forget when the night seems unbearably long, but one we have learned through the crucible of our human experience to be true.  Two images which are rising before us in these days have proclaimed this Word through the generations.  As horrible as was the cross, so was the empty tomb more glorious.  And so it is with all of us as we go through today's troubles toward tomorrow's joys.