Joy Comes in the Morning

Proverbs 3:5-6 “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

I have been wading the waters of grief for a few years now. I have been out in the deep longer than I wanted to be. I have been pummeled by the waves. I have felt like I was drowning. But it is there that I learned to not only tread the waters but to swim through them. Grief is a journey not a destination, praise God. I have learned so much about not only who I am but who God is along my deep dive with grief. 

Grief will test your faith. 

1 Peter 1:7 

So that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Grief is crippling. It is suffocating. It will paralyze you IF you let it. Grief will leave you questioning everything you believe. Grief is relentless. Thankfully, so is God’s love and grace for you. You will get to the proverbial fork in the road when walking along roads of grief. You will have to choose to walk by obedience and humility in Faith, or without it. The idea of walking in the wilderness without my compass was far scarier than anything I could have imagined doing. The Book of Job helped me see that. My breakthrough burst through upon completion of reading that book when God finally spoke. He stilled my heart. I chose Jesus, again. I chose my Faith, again. And I will choose both repeatedly. 

Choose Hope. 

Psalm 62:5-6 

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I will not be shaken.   

What do dancers, gymnasts, and acrobats have in common? They could not be successful in performing without a focal point. And the same applies to anyone walking through life in general but especially when facing grief. It will feel like a tight rope walk. You will feel wobbly. You will have some fear. Fix your eyes on hope in Jesus as you walk the ropes of grief, and He will give you firm footing. The Bible is clear in God’s promises to those that choose hope. Isaiah 40:31 says “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings of eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” Titus 1:1-2 states “in the hope of eternal life, which God who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” One of the most important reminders in the Bible regarding grieving the loss of a loved one resides in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 “but we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring him this who have fallen asleep.” 

Joy Comes in the Morning 

Psalm 30:5 Weeping may last through the night, but Joy comes in the morning. 

There may come a point in your grieving journey when guilt creeps in when you begin to laugh again. I remember feeling as though the joy I was beginning to experience in life again was a betrayal to my sister. I remember feeling as though I was disrespecting her because I was starting to feel alive again. I was able enjoy the simplest things again like, the changing of seasons, the budding of flowers, I was taking long walks again. I was able take on new tasks and have the wherewithal to do them well. I was volunteering more and adding more things to my plate because I felt like I had the capacity for them again. I allowed the enemy to get me believe that because I was able to see the clouds of grief parting that must have meant I did not love my sister as much as I thought I did. I worried others saw me this way as well. I began to feel the crippling weight of shame and guilt. It became overwhelming.

Thankfully, I had the muscle memory to lay these burdens at Jesus’s feet. I would ask God to help me daily. I would ask him to show me what I should do. In His kindness one night, after an emotionally heavy day He met me. I came across “The High Note Podcast” Episode 35: weaving your pain and purpose together with Tauren Wells & Levi Lusko. Levi spoke to exactly what I was praying about. He spoke to how healing feels like a betrayal. Levi’s words pierced me, “They are not in our past they are in our future; they are in Heaven. We need to choose to believe that our healing connects us to them just as much as our grieving does.”   I am linking a brief clip to listen to, but I encourage you to listen to the whole episode if you are in the thick of your healing journey with grief or walking in the middle of something painful.   

HIGH NOTE PODCAST CLIP

HIGH NOTE PODCAST FULL EPISODE

Walking through the pain of love and loss has changed me forever. “Teach us to number our days” has come to life for me. I have learned how fleeting this life truly is. I have learned my Joy comes from my Hope in the Lord. His promises hold the most weight in my life. I have learned the importance of knowing His Voice and His Promises. He will not leave you or forsake you. But most importantly this has reminded me to not put off proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God. That God Loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. That whoever believes in Him will have eternal life (John 3:16). What a blessing it truly is to help others find Christ. The most precious gift you will ever receive in your life will be receiving Christ into your heart. This time of year, we tend to focus on the commercialization of the Christmas Season, but my prayer is that we take a moment and reflect on the ways Jesus is filling us wih Joy, Hope, Peace, and Love.

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