Joy - Advent - Day 20 - Week 3

Isaiah 45:3 - I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

This may seem like a weird place to start one of our last studies about Joy. But sometimes the biggest blessings and joys in our lives come from the darkest times. Here in Isaiah, God calls darkness a treasure. Wrap your head around that for a minute. The total absence of light... as a treasure. If you were a disciple in the first day after the crucifixion you would have had no idea that the best thing to ever happen to you would come from the tragedy of the days before. Who could have guessed that God would send help in the form of a tiny little guy, wrapped in leftovers, in a rundown stable? We seem to live in a perpetual state of darkness. If 2020 had a motto, I think it might be "The year where joy came to die." 
The treasure of darkness... riches stored in secret places. This many days into the pandemic, I think we all are starting to have an actual list of what we've lost this year. Worse still, most of us have a list of people we love that left us too soon this year. For me, it was the biggest personality known to my life... my Daddy. How can there be joy here? How is there a treasure here?  I just don't have it yet. I want to make that maybe plainer than I have ever made anything.
I don't have joy there yet. I do say yet... because I fully believe that joy will come back fully. We grieve, but God's word reminds us that, as believers, we do not grieve without hope. If you are grieving too... that's ok.
Tonight I feel so pressed to remind my friends, especially believers, that you do a GREAT disservice to Christianity and to your friends in general if you try to tie the Joy/Happiness bow right onto the top of your mess. 

Life is messy. You are allowed to be a mess too. You are allowed to grieve.  You are allowed to not be ok. These next few sentences may not be where you are right now.

THAT IS OK!!!!!!!!!  You can be "not ok." But please, don't live there.  <3

Only God knows what will become of your biggest tragedy. Trust that He will guide you through it and to the light of the third day. Joy does come with the morning.

Father,
For the hurting tonight, I pray peace. For the grieving tonight, I pray your presence surrounds them. As we run headlong into the week of Christmas, please give us peace. Please give us JOY. Please, give us You.
-Amen.

-Gina