(original message sent via email 10/16/23)
We had a wonderful weekend at a family wedding. As much fun as we had, there is also a weight on my heart knowing that there are others right now in the fight for their life. This dichotomy stops me in my tracks sometimes and brings me back to the question, "how can one day be filled with pure joy and at the same time there be such unimaginable sorrow?"
This is a question I asked a wise friend a couple of years ago. The response my friend shared with me that day will stay with me forever. I am sharing his wise words with you today in case you struggle with this dichotomy as well. I pray that what he shared with me will help you too.
What he said to me that day is, “what you are describing is the cross; the intersection of where joy and sorrow meet.”
Let me pause for a moment.
I know a number of years ago if someone said this to me I would have said, “what?!” in my head, and then just nodded my head politely to someone talking about the cross like this to me. So please know I completely get it if that’s where you are today and what you want to do right now while reading this. Yet I also know some of you are nodding your head in complete agreement with my friend's wise words.
Wherever you are on your faith walk, I invite you to join me to…
pause. breathe. pray.™
What my wise friend was sharing with me is that the cross, where Jesus died, is where joy and sorrow intersect. In the moment Jesus died, there was great sorrow for his death yet that same moment was also filled with immeasurable joy for his selfless sacrifice for you, and for me; freeing us from our sins and giving us life. (And if the word sin is a little much for you, I get it, as it used to be for me. What helped me understand sin better was to see that it means what we say and do that isn't in alignment with God.)
So when I am in a day where I see joy and sorrow happening at the same time, I now look to the cross. For at the cross, I see that Jesus gave us a gift - the example that days like this would exist, and that joy and sorrow will have to exist together for us to truly experience the fullness of life.
Yet that is not the whole story.
There is also hope.
You see when Jesus died, the people thought that was the end of the story, but it wasn't. And so when I hear and see of inexplicable sorrow, it makes me turn to the cross, and remember, God is working at all times, and often we cannot see what He is doing. May we look to Jesus' life, death and resurrection as a reminder that there is hope even when all seems hopeless.
And so today I choose look to the cross and to hold on to hope to anchor me on these days, and in these times, and I offer for you to do the same to help you through.
To help you remember this week's message, click HERE for this week's FREE printable: Hebrews 6:19, and listen to this message on this week's Live from the Inside Out™ podcast HERE.
I pray you have a blessed week, friend!
With love and hope,
Shawn