Thankful Thursday

PS 30:11 “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”

On this Thankful Thursday I want to thank God for JOY. There was a time in my life when I was not joyful. Before I embraced the cross, all I could think about was myself. No matter what I had, or where I was, or whom I was with, deep down inside I still felt miserable and alone.

After finding Christ, my life began to Turn Around. Things began to become transformed. My world finally started to change. At last I was able to get my eyes off of “ME”, and focus more on Him. I could see His hand prints all over my past, and felt so hopeful about what my future might hold. I knew He had a divine plan for my life, and it was beginning to unfold. Quite naively, I thought everything would be just perfect now that I found Christ!

As we all know, being a Christian does not prevent bad things from happening in our lives. As a young mom with four children, I lost my best friend in the whole world, my mother. Just two years later I experienced the second greatest loss in my life, when my father was struck down by a speeding car and was tragically killed.

“Why God, why?” Is there any good answer? The only answer is the same one He gave Paul when He said, “... "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me”. No one in this life can flee the pain of loss, disappointments, and suffering. But in the face of it all we can still have JOY. “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” Jesus willing laid down His life for us all. He experienced all the pain and suffering that was humanly possible, so we could experience JOY. In Hebrews 12: 2 the scriptures say, “For the JOY set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. Excuse me, but did it say “For the JOY”? Jesus knew what suffering the cross would bring, but He also knew that His Father would once again restore His JOY!

So today, I’m so grateful there is more to this life then what we may be going through at this very moment. And I’ve also learned that what we own, where we live, what we look like, or how well we’re connected won’t bring true JOY into our lives. Yes, I’m so grateful that Jesus paid the price for my sins and I’m eternally forgiven. I’m so grateful I will once again see those who have gone before me. I’m so grateful that God has given me a true and lasting JOY, and that He has turned my mourning into dancing and clothed with a garment of praise!

Isn’t He wonderful?

If you would to see what many others are thankful for today please visit Iris at Sting My Heart, you will be glad you did! Thanks so much for stopping by today.