Mixed Tears and Smiles

September 6, 2023

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 NLT

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. 2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT

We are all familiar with “We can do all things,” “Rejoice in the Lord always,” “The joy of the Lord is my strength,” and many other words of great truth that can lift and propel us forward. But if we’re honest, we can also get weary of the burden of trying to be okay and spout those “mantras” when we are bleeding. The great news is, our loving Father doesn’t expect that of us. He never promised that our lives in this broken world would be emptied of sorrow and challenge. He never told us to deny our pain.

Paul spoke to the norm of the Christian life to the Corinthians. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we are rich enough spiritually to give riches away. We own nothing, have little control, yet we have everything. Seems paradoxical, right? Yet we know it is true. We live in a broken world, fully knowing that Jesus is King and one day will conquer all. We will understand all. But that day is not today. So, we don’t minimize the pain, we don’t give up hope, but we keep focused on Jesus, not an outcome. When we do, we have joy, mixing tears with smiles that are real.

Sometimes it feels like God is piling it on, like our guardian angel is off duty.😊 Sometimes life is overwhelming, for us and for others around us. People who irritate us may not be having a hard DAY; they may be in the midst of an overwhelming situation. As we look beyond ourselves, we can, as Paul said, have riches to give to others in need. We can keep talking even when we don’t hear a response. He is always listening and caring. When we get our answer, whatever it is, we will find that it was good beyond ourselves. Others will need that answer, and they will need to learn from our steadfast faith without automatic answers and magical mantras.

• Life feels like too much? Tell God. All dark and no light? Tell God. God feels far away? Tell God. Want to give up? Tell God. He’s your Father. THAT’S not changing. And even when you can’t feel Him or see Him, He’s listening.