For the Joy

 

God is our Provider, Healer, Restorer, Joy Giver, Counselor, Uplifter, Encourager, Hope and Fulfillment.  

 

This side of Heaven there are days we feel the provision, the healing, the restoration, the joy, the counsel, the encouragement, the fulfillment; and then again this side of Heaven there are days we don't.  

 

How do we endure the disappointment and the suffering when it seems to relentlessly persist  despite the presence of our Almighty, All Sufficient God?

 

By grace and with hope, that's how.  

 

Grace is the word that enables me to exhale, to breathe a great sigh of release, because it's not up to me.  Grace is the muscle relaxer that works over my heart and soul and mind and body when the tension's been so tight for so long I've forgotten how to let go.  Grace allows me to free fall into an easy chair, to put my feet up and not worry about all that's not getting done while I do nothing but bask in the presence of the One who does all thing anyway.

 

Hope is the prize I believe in.  Hope endures the pain because it is not without reason and not without reward.  Hope believes that if I share in Christ's suffering I will also share in His glory.  Hope knows there will be an end to the pain but more than that hope agrees with Paul when He says

 

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  Romans 8:18 (ESV)

 

Life this side of Heaven may not turn out the way I would have chosen,  it's not mine to choose how His glory is revealed in me, it's only mine to choose to let His glory be revealed.  Often life this side of Heaven does not turn out the way I would have chosen, still I choose Him.

 

How?  With Grace.  With Hope.  For Glory.