Joy in the Midst of Trials - 09/27/00 10:01 AM
The Lord always knows what I need to hear! The following came to me in my email. Having the joy of the Lord in our hearts even though we are in the midst of the trial is what gets us through. <P>=============================================<BR>The Lord is My Shepherd<P>My Cup Runneth Over<P> I had a friend once who said, “Isn’t it just like God? Just when you think He has given you everything He could possibly give you, He up and surprises you and gives you more.” In this scripture the Psalmist doesn’t say “He fills my cup.” That would be wonderful enough all by itself, but He says, “My cup runneth over.” God gives us everything we need, everything we want, and then He gives us even more. <P> No wonder we sing, shout, dance, cry and run the aisles with joy. We simply cannot hold inside ourselves the exuberance of feeling which comes when we understand exactly how much God has given to us. <P> If all God did was save our souls and give us a place in Heaven, that alone would be enough for our cup to run over with joy. But he does more. He gives us “life abundantly.” He gives us blessings which are “new every morning.” He invites us into his presence where there is “fullness of joy” and has us sit at His right hand where there are “pleasures forevermore.” <P> I am amazed at people who claim to be Christian who seem afraid to smile. They spend their lives effectively sharing in the suffering of Christ, but never sharing in His joy. Pain does not cancel joy. God never told us that His joy was contingent on our circumstances. In fact, he tells us to look to Jesus who “for the joy that was set before him endured.” <P> In the midst of my most difficult trials when the midnight darkness surrounded me with a blanket of pain, God lifted my head to see the stars shining in the darkness and gave me a song of joy in the night. And in those moments, in spite of the circumstances of my life, my cup ran over, and God sweetened my tears of sorrow with tears of joy.<P> Every day when we arise to greet the day, we can lift up our cups to heaven above and he will pour out a blessing upon us which will not only fill those cups to the brim but will fill them so full that they will overflow and splash over on those around us. So, our joy then, is not just about our personal comfort. No, far from it. When we are filled to overflowing we share that joy with others. Just being in the presence of a Christian should bring joy to others. I don’t think God fills us to overflowing to waste that extra blessing. I think that he gives it to us to share with others. <P> So, let us come to the fountain today, whether in laughter or tears, hold out our vessels and receive the blessings of God in abundance. Then carry those vessels to others and share God’s joy with them so that they, too, may have cups which “runneth over.”<BR>