JOY Through the Tears

           Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Did you know that we can drink our Joy Juice even when we’re grieving?

None of us like to grieve!  But we realize that it is a part of life.  Did you know that even Jesus grieved?  In John 11:35, we read the two simple words that let us know that Jesus understands how we feel when our hearts are broken.  “Jesus wept”.  His good friends Mary and Martha were devastated that their brother, Lazarus, had died.  And Jesus cried with them. In their grief, the sisters were distracted from the deep truth tucked away in verse 5 of that chapter: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.”

Do you realize that He loves you?  And when you grieve, He grieves.  Please know that…just as he had not forgotten Mary, Martha and Lazarus… He has not forgotten you.  In this story, you may remember that the sisters both said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  They didn’t understand why! The truth was that Jesus’ love was so great that He wanted to show them the most awesome miracle possible! He would soon raise Lazarus from the dead. 

Though we won’t experience the same kind of miracle, we all have “Lazarus circumstances”. It may be that Jesus wants to show His love, grace and JOY by providing an unexpected opportunity for the most incredible miracle in our lives. 

   So never forget: Even when you’re grieving and you don’t understand, Jesus wants to serve you His special recipe of love and JOY.