A thought by Daniel Fusco, from his book, Crazy Happy (p. 56). The Crown Publishing Group, Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
Yes, He can.
Daniel says, "That redemption leads to an outcome we would never expect. He’s always in the business of resurrecting and redeeming even the small details of our lives. And what we experience of God’s comfort now is just a foretaste, a precursor of Jesus’s return, when he will set everything right."
He goes on, "The key for us is to make sure we don’t let our hearts get hard in the midst of all the brokenness we see, experience, and endure. It can be incredibly overwhelming! And don’t get me wrong, Jesus never condemns us for struggling. He knows we are human. He promises to pour the water of his Spirit over the hard places of our hearts and renew us when we simply invite him to do so.
"Now, here’s where this gets really fun. As we suffer and as we mourn, God comforts us, and the fruit of that comfort is what? Can you guess? That’s right. Joy."
He continues, "Joy is the virtue in the Christian life corresponding to what the rest of the world understands as happiness. But it’s not really happiness at all. On the surface they do seem related. But happiness depends on circumstances, whereas joy does not. Of course, our culture is focused on happiness, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. We all want to be happy, don’t we? That’s natural.
"But sometimes it seems Christians think happiness is bad—that we should feel guilty for wanting to be happy. I’ve never understood that. I mean, if we get only one shot to live this life, we might as well make it a happy one. I like to say there’s a reason McDonald’s never tried to sell a Sad Meal.
"This happens all the time, doesn’t it? Always the next thing, then the thing after that. It’s like when you are in high school. Halfway through, you can’t wait to finally graduate. Then you head to college, but halfway through, you can’t wait to be done with school and get a J-O-B. Then you finally start working, and sure enough, you start longing for retirement.
"The same thing happens when people buy houses (everyone’s heard of 'buyer’s remorse') or when they get that first scratch on their new car. Because let’s face it: our ideas of happiness are not born in the right places. So how can we expect them to satisfy? The key to a happiness that isn’t fleeting is actually joy born out of trust in God."
He then says,"If you let your spiritual poverty lead to mourning and then let God comfort you in the midst of that mourning, the joy that arises won’t be based on your circumstances but rather on a disposition of your heart—a confidence that God has good plans for you, no matter what else goes on. My friends, that is joy!"
And that is what we want, isn't it?
Yes, yes!
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