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Hard Times,
Trust And Joy
Finding joy amid hard times
by Inspiration Ministries
“In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand
are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm
16:11
Hello,
dear friend.
Just
like you, our family has had its ups and downs over the years. But the Lord has
been faithful through it all, and I’m so grateful.
Jesus
never said it would be easy to follow Him. To the contrary, He said quite
plainly that His perfect peace and joy would come right in the midst of the
storms of life:
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as
the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let
it be afraid” (John
14:27).
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may
have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer,I
have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
My
friend, no matter what you may be going through today, I pray you will be
comforted by the amazing fact that your Heavenly Father is with you - right
where you are.
He sent His Son Jesus as Immanuel, which means “God
with us” (Matthew 1:23), and His presence is still available to us today.
Do
you know - truly know - the reality of the Lord’s presence in your life?
Because
of the cross, the barriers are gone between us and our Father.
You
and I have the privilege of entering into His presence whenever and wherever we
choose.
Perhaps
you need a special moment in His presence right now… a tender moment when you
can feel Him so near.
He loves you dearly, and He’s beckoning you to His throne
of grace so you can “obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Isn’t
that good news?
You’ll make it through
Isaiah 55:8-9 says God’s thoughts are not our thoughts,
and His ways are above our ways.
That
means we need to make room for Him to freely intervene in our difficult
circumstances.
We
shouldn’t go through a trial thinking in advance that it needs to turn out a
certain way.
Instead,
we need to be grounded in the wonderful truth that God is working ALL things
together for our good (Romans 8:28).
We
must have a submitted heart that is willing to TRUST Him with the outcome of
each troubling situation.
Just as Jesus said to Peter so long ago, He still is
saying to us today: “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after
this” (John 13:7).
Nineteenth-century
author C.H. Mackintosh insightfully observed:
“If we could only look upon a difficult crisis as an
occasion of bringing out, on our behalf, the sufficiency of divine grace, it would
enable us to preserve the balance of our souls and to glorify God, even in the
deepest waters.”
This may sound simple, but “walking through” our difficult times can be tough.
But
as we focus on trusting the Lord in the midst of our circumstances, we CAN—and
we WILL—make it through!
My
friend, remember…
No
matter what trial you are facing, your Heavenly Father wants to give you His
joy and peace.
You’ll
find that joy in His presence, and it will provide you with the strength you
need to find victory amid the storms of life (Nehemiah
8:10)..
Your
friend on the journey,
Barbara Cerullo is devoted to authentically sharing God’s love with
women. She authors From Barbara’s Heart, where her spiritual insights, heartwarming family
stories, and delightful anecdotes encourage readers with God’s faithfulness.
Her husband, David, is CEO of Inspiration Ministries.
