{"id":22839,"date":"2018-04-16T03:30:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=22839"},"modified":"2018-04-12T16:05:42","modified_gmt":"2018-04-12T23:05:42","slug":"april-16-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/04\/16\/april-16-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"April 16, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/p>\n

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”\u00a0<\/em>Psalm 94:19<\/p>\n

Honest Joy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I, and our family, have gone through a long season of suffering on a number of levels.\u00a0It has been hard. There have been times when I’ve wondered if I would survive this season.\u00a0And yet, beneath all the suffering and difficulties, there has been a joy in the midst of the suffering because of the presence of God. It’s hard to even describe it, but it’s there.\u00a0It’s way down deep.\u00a0It’s rooted in Him. It’s strong, and it gives strength.<\/p>\n

It’s not a happy “feeling.” It’s not a giddy laughter. It’s not magical.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t come from hiding my head in the sand. It comes from crying out to Him from the depths of my being, and telling Him I need Him.\u00a0And somehow, inexplicably, joy wells up from within me by His Spirit.\u00a0The weakness we feel in our suffering becomes strength as He pours His joy into our hearts.<\/p>\n

This joy, that I find so indescribable, carries us in moments of weakness.\u00a0It brings healing, comfort, grace to persevere, and courage to face the next day.\u00a0We can’t push a button and get it.\u00a0All we can do is cry out to Him and let Him release it into our hearts. I am so grateful that He comes and fills our hearts with a joy that seems a great contrast to what we are walking through.<\/p>\n

It’s only because Christ came, and because of what He has done for us, that we can have real joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank You, Lord, for Your joy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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