“… I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 7:4)
It is the ploy of Satan to focus us on the most unpleasant aspects of our life. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. Who wants to live with a broken heart? “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” (Prov. 17:22)
But whereas the enemy of our soul would foster sorrow of heart, there is always a front where God would have us find joy. Paul refused to be brought under the shroud of depression, even when he had legitimate reasons for sorrow. He spoke of himself “as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10)
How can we mount above the waves and billows of sorrow? Look for the silver lining in every cloud. Determine to gain gold in every fire. Find streams in the desert. Give thanks for what is, instead of obsessing over what’s not. Don’t hinge all your happiness on the “big” things being “right.” Rejoice in the little things that are yours. Don’t feed bitterness, envy, and discontentment. Feed the things which promote joy and peace in your soul.
There is a morning of everlasting joy coming, where sorrow and sighing shall flee away. But until that day, let your God give you a song in the night.