Sorrow and joy are like opposite sides of a coin. They both come from the same source. Your laughter and your tears come from the same fountain. The cup that holds your laughter also holds your tears. If we look deep into our hearts, we will discover that the sorrows of today were the joys of yesterday and that which is giving us joy today was the pain of days gone by.
We despite those thing that make us sad or sorrowful, yet our capacity to enjoy even the most simple things in life, like the laughter of a child, the brightness of a beautiful flower, the song of a bird is carved in us by our sorrow. Like the constant pounding of the waves that carve the rocks, so the pounding of our sorrows carves the cup that holds our joy.
Our Lord was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” Isaiah 53:3. Yet, “for the joy set before Him endured the cross…” Hebrews 12:2. His joy was your salvation and mine. The author of Hebrews continues by saying, “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”
Let your sorrows carve in you the likeness of the One whose name you bear.
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