It's Everywhere

Seems to be a lot of hurting people out there.

More than usual.
or maybe I just been more aware of those around me.

Family issues.

Personal battles that seem unwinable.

Spiritual doubts and fears.

There is a lot of pain out there.

Physical....

emotional....

and

spiritual.

Talked to a young man yesterday who is in one such situation.

He had an accident that has left him in a lot of physical pain.

This incident seems to be a central point from which his entire world has unraveled.

He is alone.
He has to live with someone else because he can't support himself.

He has considered suicide.

As we talked, he never really asked for anything but you could hear it in his voice. What, you may ask?
That someone would tell him that his life would get better.
That the pain would go away.
The things that he had lost would be restored and it would be as it was before the accident.

I could not tell him that.

It would have been easy to say soothing words.
But those words would only serve as false hope.
Our hope is not in the state of our circumstances....
Our hope lies in a person...
Jesus Christ.

So what did I pray for this young man.

Joy!

God's joy.

If you read Scripture, it truly must be something divine and not of this world.

We read in Hebrews 12:2....

"who for the joy set before him endured the cross...."

Did you catch that?
God's joy, set before Jesus, helped him to endure.
Jesus was not looking at the "now"

He was looking for the will of God in the now.

It was hard listening to this young man's voice.
Sometimes it trailed off into tears....

Sometimes it got a really dark tone to it...

But I know that by the time we finished talking

he had taken his eyes from his problems and put them on Jesus.

As humans, we might have to take our eyes off our problems a million times a day to focus on Jesus.

That's o.k.

Father God.....
Give us your joy that we might endure.

I rest upon the assurance that Your grace is sufficient.

Sufficient for whatever comes my way today.

Sufficient for what ever life hands me.

I would that we find that grace today.
I would that you set Your joy between me and my problems.

Not as a means for escape...

but for strengthening

and

keeping me focused on what really matters....

YOU!

In Jesus name...
Amen!

God on you today..

mb