GLORY BE TO THE HOLY NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THE JOY?

We experience various seasons throughout our lives – seasons of joy, seasons of tears, seasons of achievements, and seasons of wilderness, among others.

There may also come a season when we find ourselves uninterested in everything around us. Despite desirable things being right in front of us, we fail to muster much interest. Outwardly, we may appear content, but inside, there’s a sense of emptiness. We neither experience happiness nor invest ourselves in our surroundings.

Once, we longed for certain things, pursuing them earnestly. Yet now, we’ve ceased our efforts. Even if we were to attain those desires, they wouldn’t bring us happiness. To such an extent, we’ve forgotten the feeling of joy.  If you find yourself in this situation, consider this article a special gift from the divine. It’s meant for you.

There was a notable woman in Shunem who held great respect for Elisha, the Man of God. She went so far as to make a small upper room for him and to take care of him. Despite her many good deeds for Elisha, she never revealed any of her own shortcomings. 

Normally, when people encountered prophets or pastors, they tended to share their burdens and challenges. However, this remarkable woman never opened up about her own struggles, even she took excellent care of Elisha.

As time passed, Elisha himself noticed this and volunteered to help her. She insisted she was fine, but Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, revealed that she had never been able to bear a child. Elisha then prophesied that she would give birth to a child the following year. Her response was one of disbelief: ‘No, Lord, do not lie to  your maidservant’.  

Despite having welcomed Elisha as a man of God into her home, she struggled to fully trust his words. Her longing for a child had once been so strong, but over time, it had waned to the point where she had abandoned hope. The joy of expecting a child had become a distant memory. However, the LORD remembered her and blessed her with a child, filling her life with the flowing joy of a river. [ 2 Kings 4]

We might also be like this woman, wearing the same shoes right now. Like her, we might do lots of good deeds, and we might be strong in spiritual matters such as prayer, meditating on the word of God, sharing the gospel, and engaging in lots of godly works.  But we can feel a great emptiness in our hearts.

I have forgotten prosperity.  Lam. 3:17

Based on the scripture mentioned above, it’s possible that we might overlook prosperity, joy, and beauty in the process.  We may have stopped sharing our worries with God because we’ve prayed for certain matters for an extended period of time and might feel tired. We might chase many of our dreams and experience failure in some.  All these matters can cause us to lose interest in everything, and we may have forgotten the true meaning of joy in our lives. 

When we do experience happiness in a moment, it becomes something new for us, infusing our lives with renewed happiness.  Just as the woman who served the man of God was blessed with God’s riches, imagine how much more we who serve and trust Him will be blessed. 

Even though we might not be sharing our worries with the Lord at this moment, it’s important to remember that He still cares for us, and in this current season, though we may not voice our concerns, He sees our hearts before He sees our faces.  This current situation and season will come to an end soon. Our next season will be filled with divine happiness and the glory of the Lord. During that season, we will completely forget all our sorrows, worries, sadness, emptiness, and loneliness.

May the Heavenly Father fill your heart and life with His overflowing joy. Wishing you a joy-filled life in Christ. Amen!