Founders Note: Today on the blog we have Sophia, she is sharing her heart on this month's theme Joy. You can find out more about Sophia in her bio at the end of the post.
Joy is something you are supposed to have as a Christian. No matter what circumstances you are going through, what you are facing, God is supposed to give you joy. It is so easy to quote this as a Christian, but what happens when no matter what you do you simply do not feel it.
Joy is something you are supposed to have as a Christian. No matter what circumstances you are going through, what you are facing, God is supposed to give you joy. It is so easy to quote this as a Christian, but what happens when no matter what you do you simply do not feel it.
Over
the past few months I have been facing financial hardship, barely having money
to cover my household expenses. If
that was not enough, my cousin (who I consider a sister) just buried her 3
months old son.
To
be honest, I was very mad at God, I could not find joy and I could not feel the
joy coming from God. I could not
understand how things like this happen to me and my family. We were Christians.
As
Christians we are called to take on God’s point of view. In my situation, I prayed and sought to
find out what His point of view was and this is what I found. Sometimes I think
you have to have a moment when you realize there is a whole world out there
that does not revolve around you.
Even though you are going through something your problems are not the
center of the universe.
After
the child was buried days later his father visited his grave site. What he found was crosses engraved in
the rock and someone had made a handmade cross to place on his grave. God had placed it on someone’s heart to
put these items there. I was reminded
in this moment that God is always with us.
Once
I got this concept in my head, I realized, my cousin’s baby was with God. If I believed in God and I believed in
heaven I had to believe that. It
is okay to mourn, but to look at the situation as if he is gone forever is not
realistic. When you think of the
idea of living on this Earth, it really is a small portion of your life in
comparison to the time you spend in heaven.
If we live our lives right, his mother and our family will get to heaven. And where time was cut short here on Earth we have eternity to spend with him there.
As
far as my money situation. I took
me to walk into my double walk-in closet to see how blessed I was. Although I was cut short in my
finances, I really was not lacking anything. I still had my home, water, food, my son, and my
health. This was something to be
grateful for.
I took my cousin and her husband to a historic park in Richmond, VA. There we were put in an instant good mood, because we were able to observe all the beauty around us. With this, I realize that God is all around us. When you really stop to admire the sun set, nature, or the Earth; it makes me stop and think that God must really think highly of us in order to have created this Earth for us to admire and live in.
When
you think about the idea of joy, there are going to be times in which you do
not feel joy. When you want to feel pain and heartache instead. But in the midst of your hardship, you
can find joy.
The
joy can be found in God ,and God is all around us. He is in the air we breathe, the nature we see, the sun
setting and rising; and if God thinks that much of us, then you have to be able to find
joy in that.
Sophia Reed is a mother of one. She has a master’s
degree in Human Services specializing in marriage, couple, and family therapy/
counseling, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Behavior. Sophia is a
Christian, and enjoys meshing her Christian values with her education and
experiences.
Twitter: @SophiaReedmft
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SophiaReedmft
Instagram: @SophiaReedmft
Great post - just what I needed.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteNeeded to read this! I've been having issues lately and not feeling content! Feels great to know God is always there with me no matter what.
ReplyDelete