"Be Joyful in Hope..."

"Be joyful in hope..." The words from Romans 12:12, literally bounce off the page at me. In my search for the definition of true joy, these are the words that grab my attention. What does it mean?

To be "joyful," means to rejoice. To have "hope" means there is a confidence that something will happen. So, to "be joyful in hope" leaves us with happiness over what we believe in. The true question should be; "What do I believe?"

I believe in Christ. I believe in a Heavenly Father, who loved me so very much, that he decided to send me a gift. A gift of salvation through His son. I believe this Savior, died on a cross for me, bridging the gap between me and a loving God. I believe that my Savior rose again and has gone to prepare a home for me that is not of this world. Simply put, my Savior brought me "hope."

In my spiral notebook, I have this written; "To discover joy is to see Christ and know he is there, even in the tough situations." I don't know where I picked this quote up, probably from a Bible study I've done in the past, but I love it. It is simple. It is understandable. It is truth.

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of James. He doesn't sugarcoat anything! My favorite verses are James 1:2-4. They says this:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith developes perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete and not lacking anything."

Truth is when things go wrong it is HARD to keep hope. It is HARD to be joyful. Death, sickness, money troubles, hurt, anger, betrayal... it is hard to let these things go. But, we can find JOY in the fact that God loves us, has never left His children and has indeed provided HOPE.

I look at all of God's children that have gone before me and have had their share of pain and struggle. Whether, they have been my favorite Bible personalities or members of my own family, I am often left in awe of the strength they possessed, after coming through the fire. I myself have felt closer to my God, after a dose of hurt and cup of struggle. So, i can only conclude this: Yes, there will be problems knocking on my door, there will be pain stepping on my toes. There will be trials of all kinds waiting for me behind the bushes, BUT there is my Savior waiting...waiting to walk through the stormy waters with me, or should I say on top of them?

No, God never promised there wouldn't be trouble in this world. He just blessed us with the ability to hope. In that hope, we find our joy!