Joy In Heartache

Joy In Heartache

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. –2 Corinthians 6:10

My friend Mary Bess arranged for meals for our family during most of Hope’s life and again during Gabe’s life. Often, when people would bring us a meal, we would ask them to bring enough for their family, too, and invite them to stay to eat with us. We quickly discovered that one of the gifts Hope and Gabe gave to us was a richness of relationships. When they were there, the conversation simply couldn’t consist of triviality. Having people in our home during those difficult but rich days was a blessing to us—and to them, I think. We got to know people we had not known well before. They got to know and enjoy our children in our home, which had preciousness to it that I can’t quite put into words.

I remember at times saying good-bye and closing the door behind visitors and wondering if they walked away thinking, That’s weird. They sure don’t seem very sad. The truth was, while there were lots of tears of sadness in our home, there was also a great deal of joy. Hope and Gabe were here and we were making the most of it! And even in the difficult and empty days following their deaths, sadness did not always define the atmosphere in our home. Joy was always peeking its way through the curtain of sorrow.

To experience sorrow does not eliminate joy. In fact, I’ve come to think that sorrow actually deepens our capacity for joy—that as our lows are lower, so are our highs higher. Deep sorrow expands our ability to feel deeply. We feel sadder than we ever knew we could, sadder than we think we can survive. But our sorrow prepares us to experience a more satisfying and solid joy than we’ve ever known before. When joy surfaces, it allows us to see that deep beneath the chaos and catastrophe is the strong current of confidence that we can be content in the sovereign hands of God. It’s just not natural to experience profound joy in the face of heartache. It is supernatural; it is spiritual. This is the kind of joy God has for you. It is not produced by the human spirit in response to pleasant circumstances, but by the Holy Spirit in spite of difficult circumstances. It is the very joy of Christ fulfilled in us.

Jesus, I know you understand heartache, so can you show me how I can experience profound joy even though my heart is breaking? Will you give me your supernatural joy that is solid and satisfying?

DIGGING DEEPER