Heartache and Joy

“Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.” Proverbs 14:13

November is a time to be thankful. To have a thankful heart and reflect on the blessings that surround you. In this season, we should be able to instantly think of what those blessings might be. Children. Spouses. Homes. Clothing. The bare essentials that we have are always a ready resource when we need to ‘think of a blessing.’ When we think of our blessings and think of all the great things we have or possess, we can be happy and possibly even experience joy and be filled with that joy.

But…

The real world isn’t always this “pretty,” is it? Proverbs 14:13 affirms this. “Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.” We get to experience beautiful moments of joy on this earth. The birth of a child is joyful, albeit painful. A perfect pregnancy is to be praised, and you can be filled with joy when you have had a successful pregnancy and birthing. The first time your child laughs. The smell of a new, clean baby. What beautiful memories! What moments of great joy!

But…

The real world isn’t always this “pretty,” is it? Ecclesiastes 2:2 says, “I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” When we experience “the real world” and realize that raising that beautiful precious child is actually really hard, joy becomes tainted. Laughter becomes strained.

When we experience death, joy becomes tainted. Laughter becomes strained. The things that brought pleasure no longer do. And we start to realize that this life hurts a lot for some. And not at all for others. We start to hold on to those hurts. The world calls it ‘harboring.’ And so we do. We harbor our boats and sit behind closed doors. We avoid through isolation, addictions, and busyness.

But…

Jesus.

Jesus knows this about us and watched people live it out for 30 years. Somehow, he did not grow weary of loving people. The Bible tells us over and over that “Jesus had compassion on them.” The compassion story that I think of the most is when Jesus heard his cousin had been beheaded… B-E-H-E-A-D-E-D…

(Think about that one. How lucky are we not to have to worry about THAT?!)

He went to a quiet place to pray, and a large crowd followed him. He had compassion on them and began healing their sick (Matthew 14:13-14). This became the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. We remember the miracle. Do you remember the pain that he was going through before that?

Are you trapped in the pain?

What are you harboring?

When we are hurting, do we ever think about the people hurting around us and go out of our way to help them?

Is there someone you know who is hurting, who might need you today?

You could be a blessing in their life. And through your faithful obedience, God could use you to perform a miracle!

We are not told that we will never laugh after heartache. Like when a loved one is gone and not with you during this holiday season. That IS going to hurt! But look to Jesus. Jesus was HURTING! But he didn’t stop. He sought other times to go away and be alone … WITH GOD. (We will discuss “me time” more in another writing, I’m sure). 😊

But, for now, let us sit in the fact that God knows we will have seasons where joy is hard to find, and bitterness will sit like a water spider gently gliding on the surface of our ponds. Sin, with its massive rock, will plunge into our ponds, and the waves will rock our lives. The waves will happen, and sin will happen. And our “water bug of bitterness” will be pushed to shore where it will sit, immobile. But the waves will end. How you navigate that wave is determined by where your eyes are fixed.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Let’s remember this as we enter the Christmas season, where we celebrate the birth of a beautiful baby boy who came to this world in a not-so-ideal way. (Seriously, who wants to give birth on top of itchy straw with stinky animal poo?!?)

How does this resonate with you? I would love to hear more! Share with us the season you are in.

God Bless!