The Joy of the Lord is My Strength and Joy Comes in the Morning
Prayer: Jehovah, Abba, Father we worship, we honor you, and give you glory this day. Lord, we know that believers and unbelievers are broken, grieving, and hurting because of situations past, present, and what is to come. We know that you are a just God and a Loving God. So we ask that this prayer and this teaching be a comfort to those who read this and let them know that You are God and that you wish not for us to grieve or stay in a state of grieving. Sorrow exists only for a while, but Joy will come to those that trust and believe in You. Amen
I have a friend who has been living abroad in Italy for years. I have not seen him in many years. I’ve tried to reach him on numerous occasions through social media with no success. He has been in my spirit with the coronavirus being so pervasive in Italy. So I reached out to one of his daughters hoping that I would have a measure of success, and I did. It had been a while since I have communicated with her, so I had to make sure she knew it was really me and not an impostor. After her assurance, she told me that she would pass my info to her dad. Within about 12 hours my cell rang from an unknown number. I was hesitant to answer it and I was driving but I did and I’m glad I did.
After going over a few pleasantries, I asked where was he. He said that he had to evacuate from Italy but because his wife and son were not U S citizens, they had to stay behind. My heart went out to him. I told him that his daughter seem a little apprehensive about sharing his info. He said it was because he asked her not to, even to me. I was taken back because he and I were the best of friends, he was like the big brother I never had. I was silent for a moment and he explained why. You see a few years ago one of his brothers whom he was very close to died in a work related accident and he was still grieving. Also the fact that his oldest brother was having some serious health complications that combine with having to leave a wife and son behind was taking a toll on him emotionally. He told me that when his brother died, he didn’t want to experience a hurt like that again to those he loved. I prayed instantly that God would comfort him and let him know that he is loved and that I pray that he will get through this. I told him that my wife and I have started a ministry and that he should check out some of the teaching we had posted to spread the Gospel through social media. He suggested that perhaps we should address the issue of grief, so here I go.
Let’s explore death and grief. We often experience grief over the death of someone we love. In the spiritual realm, death is the separation of our relationship with God. In Genesis Chapter 6 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. In the natural person whether a good or evil person, death brings sorrow to each. A few examples were when Moses went to Egypt to bring the captive out of the land, a plague was upon the land, and not even pharaoh’s firstborn could escape death and pharaoh himself wept. When Jacob heard that Joseph was dead, he wept over his son. One of the most impactful examples for me was when Jesus returned to the place where they had laid Lazarus his friend’s body and Jesus found Martha, Mary, and those who mourn with them weeping. Jesus was so moved that He wept. John 11:35.
No one should tell you how long you may weep or your grieving period, but what you should know that God does not want you to have a grieving spirit. Grieving too long brings a deterioration of the body or your mental state. We first give thanks that we treasure the time our love ones were with us and that we made the best of the time shared. For no man knoweth the day nor the hour when we may leave this earthly place. We must always be assured that our lives are being lived according to God’s will for us. The Scripture says, “To live is to die but to die is gain. Simply said that while we live in this sinful world we witness the horrors of this world but when we die in Christ, we are in a state of rest and we gain eternal salvation. Therefore, we will experience no more pain, neither mentally, emotionally, or physically. Live our life to the fullest. So when death presents itself, rejoice that when we and those we love are in Christ transition, all our cares are taken care of. Weeping may endure for a night, a moment, a season, but Joy comes in the morning. For the Joy of the Lord is my strength.
I pray this has been a blessing to you and that you reach out to God for more understanding and revelation regarding this matter. Remember always that we are never alone for Jesus sent back the Holy Spirit to comfort us, to lead and guide us. We also have ministering angels to watch over us. So dry your tears and rejoice in the Lord for He is with you forever and ever.
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