Having JOY Amidst Suffering

Can we truly have JOY amidst suffering? If so, than what does

that look like?

"...in Thy presence is fullness of JOY..." -Psalm 16:11

Boom! Right there. Okay so what does THAT mean? In the presence of the Lord, there is fullness- COMPLETE, SATISFYING...JOY! Okay well...how exactly do I GET that? Scripture says that in HIS presence, there you will find it. When we seek after the Lord and continually abide in His presence, we will be filled with His JOY! That's a promise! (you can scroll down and read my other post "Promises of God"). Okay, so...can I really have that when I'm suffering? Read the verse again. "In Thy presence IS fullness of JOY". That is present tense. No matter where we are in life, we can always find joy in Him. I know it sounds easier said than done, especially when you are going through a time of suffering. But friends, I know this to be TRUE in those VERY times of suffering.

This past Saturday, I felt like my world had been turned upside down. (I can't go into details and have to be vague, and for that I apologize). I had to keep constantly telling and reminding myself that God IS who He SAYS He is. And that He will never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5, Joshua 1:5). I was so burdened and discouraged by "this", and I asked the Lord to help me not to let this distract me or completely take away my joy for what we are celebrating at this time of year: HIM. His life and death and resurrection. And as soon as I prayed that, I realized what suffering in a Believer's life should look like. That even though there will be pain and suffering in this life, especially as a Believer, we can have true JOY! Not necessarily happiness, but JOY. I saw that amidst my suffering now, this week, I can still have joy and celebrate the Gift of Christmas. For this is the very reason why any of us can even have joy. That Joy, that Gift, is JESUS CHRIST Himself. But it's not just for this time of year, it is something that we must celebrate every single day. The Thing that we look to day by day, and the Thing that we find our JOY and satisfaction in. Because He is our All-in-All. He is the very reason for life. Amidst our suffering, we can find JOY. Not that it will be easy, but the suffering I'm going through right now and during this Christmas season, is a picture of how our suffering should be for the rest of our lives. That even though we are suffering, we can look to our precious Savior and see all that He has done for us. And that ("that" being Jesus) really, as hard as it is to sometimes see and believe, far surpasses any suffering we go through. THAT is JOY ENOUGH!

"Holy Father, thank You for the precious Gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus, thank You for being willing to be made humble to come to this earth as a lowly

baby to deliver and rescue us, sinners, for the sake of our Matchless and Most High God.

Thank You for Your life, death and resurrection.

Lord thank You for filling us with your Holy Spirit and for giving us the JOY

of who you are and what You've done, admits the pain and the suffering we go through for Your name. Be glorified and lifted up high. I love you so very much.

In Jesus' Powerful, Holy & Precious name,

Amen."