In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief … — 1 Peter 1:6
On the surface, this seems contradictory. Joy and grief? How can they coexist? If joy is the opposite of grief, then wouldn’t you need to get rid of all grief in order to have joy?
Not so.
When we were mourning the loss of a loved one, I made an amazing discovery. Underneath are the everlasting arms. While others grieved without hope, falling through emptiness in a bottomless pit of sorrow, we were buoyed up by something far bigger than us or our pain. The sorrow passed, but the joy remained.
I received an email from the husband of a woman who could feel no love. Like so many others, she was the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse. There is no way to measure the devastation caused by this childhood trauma. Yet her approach was to shut it down, to never "go there." Of course. Who would want to "go there"? Yet, by shutting down the grief, she also lost the joy. She became unable to feel.
Joy is greater than grief. But sometimes the path to joy, takes us through grief. There in our place of sorrow, Jesus meets us, and sorrow is exchanged for joy.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.