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.
One day 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 simply 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
Discoveries Devotional – Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by
Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc.
1223 West Main Street #228
Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA
Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations.
Visit DwightClough.com for more information. Dwight and his wife Kim are active members of Lake City Church in Madison.