You'll Make It!
 

      Where's
     
      the Joy?

       Most believers know the scripture that talks about weeping endures for the night but joy comes in the morning.  We also know about those nighttime experiences where it seems morning won’t ever come.

       Yet God’s Word is true and He wouldn’t have promised joy if it couldn’t ever come again in that area of our life.  God knows how much you are hurting and He sees the disappointment.  He feels the frustration you have because you seem helpless to change the conditions.  But you’re going to make it, and joy will come to you again.

       In spite of what you feel, believe you can have an abiding deep sense of joy from God.  That’s because you know His promise to take you past this and into better times.

       You won’t always feel that hurt or disappointment or frustration.  It isn’t going to be a permanent part of you.  So decide that.  Yes, you have to make a decision within yourself that you’re not going to allow that to define your future days.  You’re going to have joy.

       There’s a woman who made this decision, and it made all the difference in her ability to have some joy in her future.  When she contacted us for prayer, she was sad and wounded because her marriage had failed.  In fact, she said it hurt her deeply.  So we began to pray and continued to correspond back and forth.

       As we fed her the words that God had for her life, I could sense she was not going to let this defeat her.  She knew she could love again even though someone had hurt her.

       So she decided to shake it off and move forward into the new things God had for her.  What was she doing?  Reaching out for joy.  Instead of existing in a sad state or a state of disappointment, she was reaching out and taking hold of joy, and so she began to live in it.  Now, that’s what controls her moods and her thinking and her heart.  What it does for her days is amazing.

        Those are the kinds of days God wants you to have.  Where you’re reaching out and receiving joy instead of staying in the sadness and disappointment and frustration.  Believe that your nights of weeping will be over and you’ll have joy in the morning.  In fact, you will come to the time when you can laugh again.  Instead of feeling desperate and down, you can be up and ready for the future.

       You know sadness and disappointment keep us down and unprepared for a good future.  They actually steal that away from us.  Future good and joyous days are stolen from us if we don’t reach out for joy.  I know it’s painful to do that.  It feels better just to stay around our sorrow.  But we have to raise up our head and stretch out our hand as if we’re reaching out for joy.  It’s good to physically do that.  Reach your hand out as if you’re taking hold of joy.  Believe that you’re going to make it and even someday soon be able to laugh again.

       Jesus promised in Luke 6, Blessed are you who weep and sob now, for you shall laugh!  (Ref. Luke 6:21.)  You’re weeping, maybe even sobbing right now, but He said you’re going to do what?  Laugh again.  Oh, but that can be tough at times to really believe it can happen to us.  Maybe our situation is excluded from that promise.  It just went too deep.  It went on for too much time.  It’s too painful!  Forget about having joy again, you’re just trying to survive.

       That’s what God is so good to do—help us survive.  Give us strength and comfort and endurance.  He can make you strong when you don’t feel you can cope with it.  You will survive.  But you can’t stay in the just-surviving mode.  He doesn’t want you to stay in mourning and sadness.  That’s why He comes and heals and mends you over whatever type of event that happened.  In spite of how difficult it may seem, He’s going to take you to the point that you can see His Word fulfilled.

       He is taking you into days of happiness and comfort and new and wonderful blessings.  When the painful moments try to come in again and take over your joy (which they will do), but in those moments, keep reaching out for God.  He will respond and come to you and fill you full of joy so you can enjoy your days ahead.  Your suffering days are over.  You’re going to go into a time of peace and confidence.

       Believe He is there and He has come this day to speak this word to you.  You are going to make it and you’re going to make it with joy.  Your night of weeping is over and your morning is coming and it’s going to be filled with the great joy of God for you.  (Ref. Psalm 30:5.)

 
A Spiritual Powerline to say out loud:

“JOY IS MINE!”

  Here is a powerful prayer
              to say out loud:               
    

       Lord, I am not going to allow my joy to be taken away from me.  You are bringing the morning—a day filled with the good joyous times You have for me.  I’m reaching my hand out to receive joy now.  I’m really going to enjoy my life by Your power.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.