Joy In the Midst Of Sadness

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said to them "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

            What a title.... Joy in the midst of sadness. How can you have joy when you are sad? Sometimes words can escape you and all you want to do is cry but you do not know why. All you know is that in order to let it all out is to cry and sometimes scream. But it's not a scream that you can hear, it's one of those silent screams that resonates from deep within your soul.

            You think that no one can hear you or see you, but God does. You might say he does not understand what I am going through right now. How can He, He is God. Let me tell you that I thought the same thing. He reminded me that in Matthew 26:36 when he went to pray in Gethsemane, He took some of his disciples with Him and told them to pray with Him. If you continue reading it says, that His soul was sorrowful even to death.

Can you imagine Jesus, the Son of God, so sorrowful that it made Him want to die? In the bible verse it goes on to say that He was asking His closest disciple to help and pray with Him. He was going through a lot at the moment, just like you may be right now. However, when He came back, He found them asleep. This happened to Him a couple of more times. In His hour of need He had no one to help Him. Jesus, again, the Son of God had no one to help Him and pray with Him. Does that remind you of someone you know? Maybe you at this very moment?

            You may be feeling like that right, everyone has left you, no one is there for you, they have abandoned you, but God has not. He knows exactly what you are going through for He went through the same thing. His soul was hurting, and He was going through the most difficult part of His ministry and no one was able to help Him. He had to lean on the one that had never left Him, His Father.

            We have been taught to believe that all Christians are to be happy all the time. We have come up with an automatic response when someone asks us how we are doing. It’s the “I am blessed and highly favored”. We all know that response all too well, we have heard it so many times. It is because we have learned to profess with our mouths God's truths about us. It's how we fight our battles. It's how you will fight this battle and have joy in the midst of your struggle. Do not focus on the things that you cannot change, for those things God will take care of. Focus on you right now, look in the mirror and see the beautiful creation God has created. You may not feel like one right now but that is the lies of the enemy. God’s truth is written in his word in Psalm 139:13-14, it says “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Your soul knows that you are God’s creation, rejoice and have joy knowing that you are made in His image. That is where your joy is, knowing that you are His and He is yours.

He is your abba father, the one that will never leave you. When all others have left, He remains right by your side. In order to find the joy again, you have to find who you are in Christ. Find all the hidden secrets that He has put in His Word about who you are in Him. How can God want me to have Joy right now you ask? We all know the bible verse in Psalm 30:5 that says, ".... weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Now what does He mean by that? He is letting you know it's ok not to be ok. Go ahead grief, cry, scream at the top of your lungs if you want, but just know that this too shall pass. Joy will come back. You don't have to feel ashamed about your sadness. You don't need to hold it in, He is with you through it all. 

            Now this is where having Joy comes in the midst of sadness. Knowing that even though you're going through this; He is with you. You are not going through it alone. For His Word in Deuteronomy 31:6 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Let that fill the emptiness that you feel right now, let His peace and joy surround you. Though you may not feel it right now the Joy of the Lord will come back. The last verse in Nehemiah says that the joy of the Lord is your strength. It took me a minute to fully understand what this meant. He is saying that even though you don't have joy, His joy is your strength. The strength that you need when you don’t feel like laughing, the strength to get up in the morning and keep going. The strength when all you want to do is just cry and fall apart. His strength is what will keep you going. Romans 8:26 says “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.”

            Yes, all your silent cries and pleads that you think no one heard, he heard it all. He caught every tear from your eye. Even when you cry right now, and you do not know why, He knows. The Holy Spirit is communicating with the heavenly father and is

interceding for you. You may not be able to speak a word, but He knows. You want for all this pain and suffering to go away, but He is saying, I am walking with you. Just hold on a little longer. My purpose will soon be revealed, and Joy will return.

            I leave you with this last verse in Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Keep holding on and waiting, you will have Joy once again.