Do not Grieve - Lent 2020
Do not grieve for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b
A family in our church recently fostered two children, in addition to the three they already have at home, while the birth mother was in prison. Since all the children were very young, and the parents knew there could be conflicts, they held a family meeting shortly after the foster children’s arrival. They started by asking if there were any problems they needed to work through, and their oldest daughter solemnly said, “yes.” Thinking the worst, they asked more questions to get to the bottom of the issue. Her response: “the problem with my foster brother is that he smiles too much!”
The little boy had experienced so much neglect and pain in his short life, and this was the first time he was shown love. His face could not contain his joy; he smiled all the time. He was also never brought to church by his birth family, but his foster family brought him there faithfully. Again, he could not suppress his ear-to-ear grin the entire time he was there.
Although it was beautiful to see the joy etched on this boy’s face, it was fleeting. Once the mother was released from custody, she took her children back and has not had any contact with the foster family or the church again. In our broken and fallen world, our joy seems like this, ephemeral, brief, and transient. Not so with our LORD. His joy is our strength day in and day out.
Although Lent can seem a “downer," it is the journey of joy. Jesus knew the joy that was before him, so he endured the cross and scorned its shame (Hebrews 12:2). This reminder of His suffering is a reminder that our suffering will turn to joy and God will wipe every tear from our eyes in the end (Revelation 21:4). May God’s joy be your strength today and every day.
Lord, I praise you for giving me the gift of faith to see the work of your Son. He gave His life for me so I could have true joy. Help me to trust in His completed work on the cross for my joy and my strength. Amen.