The Joy Set Before Us

Life is hard.
But God is good.
He is enough.
People will fail
Will make bad choices
Tragedy will hit
People will die.
It does not change who He is.

His heart is broken for this fallen world. He loves us so desperately.
Every choice away from him pains his heart. Still he pursues, He heals, he restores, he redeems. He is not willing that any should perish. He cares for each one. Each family, each child. Each mom, each dad, each marriage, each diagnosis, each pain, each wound, each betrayal. He sees them all and He cares. He bottles every tear we cry.
And every painful, hard step we make towards Him, He honors. He picks us up and helps us stand. Sometimes He carries us. Other times he encourages us to walk—in order to allow legs that are weak to become strong, to heal, to learn to run.

He knows we will fall and that we will get our knees all scraped up. Sometimes we even fall on our faces or hit our heads. And he helps us up and bandages our scrapes and wounds and encourages us to walk on.
The journey is lined with blessings. Sometimes they seem to be innumberable.
Other times they seem hidden by the rough terrain. But really, its not about the blessings. They merely are evidence of his goodness and great love.

But the Joy—oh the Joy set before us. The Jewel, the Pearl, the Treasure…

Oh Sweet Jesus, you are my All in All. You are so worth every pain—for what have we without you? Where are we without your love?

“Whom have I in Heaven but you? There is nothing on earth I desire besides you. My heart and my flesh, many times they fail. But there is one truth that always will prevail:
God is the strength of my heart. God is the strength of my heart. God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Forever”

Psalm 16:2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, apart from you I have no good thing.”
Psalm 34