Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

"Trouble that's transformed into joy." I read this phrase in a devotional recently.  It jumped off the page as I read it. It doesn't make sense intellectually.  How can anyone find joy in their troubles? But when God Almighty transforms them, they can turn into joy.   I have experienced this for myself, albeit after I struggle for a while with it.  I could be smack dab in the middle of a very deep, perplexing, and gone-on-for-far-too-long trouble, but when I turn my attention to Christ, everything calms down.  Maybe not in the circumstance, but inside of me.  We can't always control our circumstances, can we?  The vacation that goes awry due to an unexpected hurricane.  That parent/teacher conference that catches you by surprise.  A child that you brought up to worship God, but who has chosen another path. We all have them.  Troubles, that is.  Some loom larger than others.  Some seem insurmountable.  We wish they wou...

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Poor Job.  That is typically the first thought we have when we think of Old Testament Job. Even those most ignorant of the Bible have most likely heard of Job somewhere along the way.  They say things like, "She has the patience of Job." When we say patience, we think that we are waiting a long time for something. Patience actually means long-suffering.  And Job, above all, is the poster child for suffering. But if you know the whole story, you know that patience and suffering are not Job's entire story. And neither is suffering the whole picture for you, for me. No matter what we have been through or are going through, suffering does not have the final word.   Like Job, God can restore anything and anyone to us at His command.  God can change our story for the better.  How?  Because He is God. There was nothing Job could do to stop the calamities and tragedies that came upon him. He was helpless in that regard. Yet he continued to praise God....

Do you know who said this?  It was Job.  Do you know when he said it?  It wasn't after his torturous trials had ended.  It was during . Yep.  Job still believed in and trusted God during his horrendous season of suffering. Job still praised God while he was suffering. Job still praised God even when his friends let him down.  Big time. Job praised God after he lost everything and everyone that mattered to him. No need to belabor this, really.  You know exactly what I'm getting at. So let's continue to praise the Lord simply because He is Lord no matter what we are facing.  No matter how long it lasts. No matter what our friends say or don't say. For I know that my Redeemer lives.  Always.  Do you know Him this way?

God always wants the best for you.  Period. However, we do not know what is best for us.  Our limited viewpoint is no match for God's omniscience.  So how could we possibly know what is best for us? When the Lord removes someone or something from our lives, if it held any import to us at all, it hurts.  At first.   But if that person or thing was an idol, then it had no place in your life to begin with. How do you know when something or someone has become an idol?  When you think about it, him, or her more than you do the Lord. "Now how am I supposed to think about the Lord more than anything or anyone?" you might ask.  He has ways to get you there! Job was already a godly man, but it wasn't until God removed everything and everyone - literally - from his life that Job really saw and experienced and knew God.   And God's intention for Job is the same for all of us - that we might know and experience Him better and more.  Job's case ...