“I will see you again and you will rejoice and no one will take away your joy.”

We have ·more to enjoy and more time for enjoyment than any other generation. According to our constitution it is one of our inalienable rights – “the pursuit of happiness.” The truth is that happiness or joy can be very elusive if we let it. The pursuit of happiness is a
real struggle with the constant strain and pull of life and family. I dedicate this devotional to my wife who because of my stupidity and sometimes narrow-mindedness, says to me “Please do not steal my joy!” In the Bible, joy means so much more than what we usually understand. Jesus speaks of joy in victory over hardship – of conquest over defeat. God is able to create joy out of sorrow. Jesus tells His disciples that He will die, but He also tells them that He will return and turn their sorrow into joy. Jesus can lift us up and carry us through broken dreams, bitter experiences and sudden attacks to a joy that no one can take away from us. This is an incredible peace and an eternal promise if we just accept it.

AMEN.

-Submitted by Luis Beauchamp