Joy Comes

All of us have experienced what we call “The dark night of the soul.” Times when we feel like there’s no way out. Times when we don’t think things will ever be better. We are stuck in a rut of hard times, one bad thing happening after another. We wonder “Where is God?” And just when we think it’s over, we get hit again. Is there hope, or are we hopeless, like the song from the 60s – “Is That All There Is?” Peggy Lee sang this melancholy song about experiencing life’s disappointments. The chorus goes:

“Is that all there is, is that all there is

If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing

Let’s break out the booze and have a ball

If that’s all there is.”

In other words, there is no purpose in life, let’s just keep on keeping on. 

Personally, I’ve had a rough six years. There have been times when I’ve shouted at God, pleaded with Him, begged for adversity to end. It still hasn’t ended. I’m looking for that coming joy. And I am certain it will come. 

There is hope in God. I am reminded of a line in a Steve Green song, “God and God alone will be the joy of our eternal home. He will be our one desire. Our hearts will never tire of God’s and God’s alone.” In Psalm 30 we read “Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” We don’t know when that morning will arrive, but we can know it’s coming. 

“Joy comes because Jesus comes. And if you don’t recognize His face, He will call your name. Your name is not buried in some heavenly file. God needs no name tag to jog His memory about you. He has said, ‘See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands’ (Isaiah 49:16).” – Max Lucado. We don’t know why he tarries, but we KNOW. He. Will. Come.  You are everything to the God of the Universe.  

Thanks be to God, that’s not all there is. 

Photo credit © Can Stock Photo / altanaka

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