After the year of release there is a year of restoration; a year of new beginnings. Though whatever the Lord will severe from our heart may be painful and though there must be a purging. There is always a fresh start right after. There is the unmistakable joy given with a second chance. When we are but dead in our sins we tarry through the night. We carry the weight of the world and the sin that comes with it. However, when Christ tears this out of our heart. When Christ surgically and meticulously slices our old heart out, he is assured to transplant it with a new heart. He gives us a new beginning and a new morning for us to be joyful in.
However, be certain Christian, that you understand that joy is wholly different than happiness. The state of being happy is swayed by emotions. Emotions are as fickle as the man who has them. They can not be trusted and thus are not the litmus test for joy. For even the unbeliever can be happy. Be those that are of the elect and have been adopted of Christ, and were chosen before the formation of the earth can be joyful. Paul writes that all the blessings of the Spirit were bestowed upon us by Christ, and one of the many blessings we can count on is Joy. Joy comes in any state of our life: through the good times, through the bad times, and even through the times of long suffering. Praise be to Jesus that joy comes in the morning no matter what state we are in. For everyday is a blessing and everyday that we are alive in Christ mark it as a day to be joyful. Amen, Amen.
