"My Heart Leaps for Joy....."

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  It’s something we can choose to drink even when we’re grieving.

            It seems that our country has experienced such heartbreaking circumstances lately: the bombing at the Boston Marathon; the explosion in West, Texas; a deadly avalanche in Colorado.  Sorrow is never a welcome visitor, is it?

            Can we still have JOY amidst the tears?  Oh, yes!  We find JOY by depending on the Lord. David reminds us in Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song”.

             Writer, Micca Campbell explains: "David believed God heard his cries. He relied on God’s provision and strength.  David trusted in God’s help with all of his heart. This kept him from growing weak, losing heart, and giving up. Because David believed God was for him, in him, with him, and behind him one hundred percent, he was able to give thanks with a joyful heart."

            When you find yourself in a period of grief, do you do as David did and call upon the Lord as your strength and your shield?  If we will trust in God, He WILL help us to get through the dark times.  Let’s look toward the rainbow after the storm, knowing that God’s treasure will be sweet peace and JOY.

            Even when we experience grief, we can find JOY and strength in the Lord.