“The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.” Psalm 30:5, The Message
Your joy is coming.
Most of us have journeyed through what might be called a wilderness season, or personal desert, a time of grieving, or a period of brokenness. There are a lot of various terms for personal/internal suffering.
While the world is full of lots of good (even if we have to look really intentionally in order to find it), it is also full of lots of pain. And if you have lived for half a second in this wonderful world, you have experienced the reality of its curse.
I don’t know about you, but when I’ve walked through the painful side of life I’ve more than frequently asked, begged and pleaded with God to PLEASE take me out of the situation. Can you relate? And even while I know that there is some kind of character development at work during these not-so-lovely seasons, I still try to bargain with God to find a lesser uncomfortable path for me to learn such valuable lessons. Through my little peep hole view of life I can’t imagine that suffering is truly the only way to grow. I imagine there could be a short cut, or a Disney version of my present pain. “C’mon God! Let’s add a little pixy dust to this situation, please?”
And God says, “No.”
When I was delivering Jackson I remember telling the nurse, “I can’t take another one,” as I was entering (unbeknownst to me) the final contraction before I pushed his eight pound body out. The joy, relief, exhaustion and peace I felt, only seconds after the most intense period of labor, was indescribable.
At the peak of the delivery process, I wanted to find another way to get through it…a less painful path to receive the joy. I didn’t think I could handle one more contraction.
And then came the most powerful moment in the entire experience, reminding me of how worth every discomfort and every tear was as I cradled in my arms this fresh from the womb, heavenly smelling baby boy.
We often, in the throes of the wilderness, underestimate the significance of those moments. We are desperate for a way out. The pain blinds us of the purpose for the present suffering. We search for a way to numb the pain…to soften the blow.
We forget that our joy is coming.
And yet, it is in these dark days that the most significant inner transformation begins to take place, if we allow it to. If we can hold off on turning to our coping mechanisms, or clinging to our self-help devices, and instead lean more deeply into Jesus, the sorrow we are presently suffering will transform our hearts into joy.
Running from the pain only gives temporary relief, and oftentimes keeps us locked into the difficult season far longer than God intended. So instead, press more vigorously into the arms of Jesus.
The inner transformative work that God is doing in your most painful moments is the work that is creating the very person he intended you to be.
The only way to become is to be broken.
Your joy is coming.
God is already crafting the next chapter of your story.
Let him transform you from the inside out. Allow this painful season to cultivate in you the character that will make you shine most like Jesus.
Your weary head won’t hang low forever. I do promise you, your joy is coming.
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That was beautiful and profound. Isn’t it amazing how one moment you just know that God has forsaken you and then suddenly out of nowhere, the day comes when it all makes sense?