This series has been about rejoicing and I know that for many of you the pain, the sorrows, and the suffering is so great that you might say impossible. Others, put on an exterior of great joy, the life of the party. Yet, when alone all the agony of your broken heart comes pouring in upon you. Doubts and fears begin to flood your mind. Then you wonder if your own inability to rejoice, your trembling attempts at faith will prevent God from ever really blessing you. Indeed, the journey of a pilgrim through a strange land has moments of deep despair. Yet, when we fully understand and can say a resounding yes to the final two questions we can have peace even in the center of that sorrow. We can have a glimmer of hope, the tiniest sparkle of true joy deep within that heart so broken and afraid. I am not talking about the frivolous merriment of a fool. I mean a steady deep joy that rejoices in knowing that a Good, Omnipotent, Sovereign God loves me and has a perfect plan for my good. He will keep all His promises to me. He will give me the strength and wisdom needed for the journey. He has provided the grace to create me, the grace provided on the cross to save me, the daily grace that sustains me and the future grace which will always be present at the exact moment I need it every step of this journey. We can have the peace of God which helps us to march forward in spite of the sorrow; in spite of the pain. Like Paul,
2 Corinthians 6:
"7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."
It is this dichotomy of sorrow and yet joy that Christ Himself presented to us.
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There is no Prince that understands perfect Joy more than Christ and there is no person so filled with compassionate sorrow as He weeps over the lost of this world. In His humanity none could have suffered more than He. He, who was perfect righteousness had to bare the full wrath that sin demanded in payment for our sins while being rejected by the very ones He desired to save. For a moment in time, He felt the ripping away of His very soul (the Father) and spirit (the Holy Spirit) while He (the body of the God head) hung alone upon that cross. Yet, He knew the joy which would be His because He loved so much each of us who would accept His gift of love and future grace. Look at Hebrews 12: "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
He is the author and the finisher of my faith. So dear weary pilgrim do not lose heart. Down in the very depth of your bleeding heart there is that flicker of joy, steadfastly secured in Christ. As we look once more at the verse in Philippians 4:
Continue reading Rejoice-The Lord is At Hand (Part 4) Sorrow Filled Rejoicing–How?
