Friday – Prophets

Reading – Isaiah 61-63

Highlight Verse:

“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Years ago, a couple we were close with had a tragic late-term miscarriage.

About a year later, they told us they were going to try to have another child, but they were praying that we would have one first.

We had tried for eleven years so we told them to go ahead and pray but don’t wait for us.

Within a month, our firstborn was on her way. Within another month, they were expecting too.

After eleven years of pain and disappointment, I can tell you the moment our first daughter entered this world was the

most joy

I had experienced to that point.

I firmly believe that joy was far deeper because of the years of pain and disappointment before she came along.

Sorrows will come in this life. That’s an unavoidable fact.

But if we had no sorrows, our times of joy would be much less powerful.

If you are in the midst of a difficult time, while I do not want to ignore the depth of hurt you may be going through, I do want to encourage you to think about the joys you have experienced.

Know that the joys to come can be even greater because of your current suffering.

What have you been through that magnifies the joy you can now have?
Have the joys you’ve experienced after pain helped encourage you through the tough times?