“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
John 16:24
If there is one thing we learn as we grow older in this life, it’s that joy and sorrow are often intertwined. We spend a lot of time pursuing one and trying to untangle ourselves from the other. But God keeps making it clear to us that our humanity means we will know both inexpressible joy and profound grief.
When we pause to examine these overlapping realities, we see that we’re right in the middle of God’s story. It’s a story of a broken world being healed. He is turning darkness into light before our eyes. But while under the weight of crushing agonies, we often struggle to see that light.
“The cross itself is the ultimate example of this intricate web of sorrow and joy. Jesus experienced sorrow incomprehensible, dying a gruesome and lonely death to absorb the entirety of God’s wrath toward evil in our place” (Katy Hartman, 2014). And through it we have been given joy that is overflowing. When we take the sorrows of our lives to Him in prayer, He fills our cups of joy. We drink up the comfort of His love and care for us.
When we pause to examine these overlapping realities, we see that we’re right in the middle of God’s story. It’s a story of a broken world being healed. He is turning darkness into light before our eyes. But while under the weight of crushing agonies, we often struggle to see that light.
“The cross itself is the ultimate example of this intricate web of sorrow and joy. Jesus experienced sorrow incomprehensible, dying a gruesome and lonely death to absorb the entirety of God’s wrath toward evil in our place” (Katy Hartman, 2014). And through it we have been given joy that is overflowing. When we take the sorrows of our lives to Him in prayer, He fills our cups of joy. We drink up the comfort of His love and care for us.
Scripture Focus
John 16:17-33
Insight
Father in heaven, I believe that You will fill my cup of joy to the brim as I give my burdens toYou in prayer. Amen
Bible In A Year
- Job 15-16
- Psalm 50
- Luke 13