Living Joyfully in Troubled Times by Toni Sorenson

Author:Toni Sorenson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LDS;Religious;Joy;God;Jesus;faith;hope;divine;blessings;love;doctrine;adversity
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2015-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

You neglect and belittle the desert,

The desert is not remote and southern tropics.

The desert is not only around the corner

The desert is squeezed into the pew next to you.

The desert is in the heart of your brother.

Just because we’re smiling doesn’t necessarily mean we’re happy. But God wants us to be happy in spite of bad things that come. His grace is sufficient to see us through the hard times. Even when bad things happen, joy can exist in abundance. Our darkness can be diminished, even vanquished, through the transforming power of Christ.

Transformation in our lives begins when we engage with Jesus Christ. It happened with the woman at the well. She and Jesus engaged in conversation. It happened with the woman who brought oil to anoint the Master. It happened with the lame man lying next to the pool at Bethesda.

I love the story of the man at the pool because it has so many aspects and can be interpreted many ways. However, the intent of the Savior cannot be misunderstood—He was there to heal.

“Would you be made well?”

The man’s response had to be a yes or a no. Either he wanted to get healed or he didn’t. Until I actually visited that site and saw the pools and learned the story, I didn’t realize that if the man had said yes, he would have had to give up his life of begging and the income that came with it. If he had said no, he would have remained with everything familiar.

It’s the question Jesus asks of all of us. Do we really want to be healed of whatever is keeping us from living the joyful life we are meant to live?

Are we willing to give up the misery that garners us attention?

Are we willing to put in the hard work and sacrifice that is always required?

Do we truly want to pay the price that a joyful life demands? Because we have to live on purpose. We have to be willing to seek joy.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know I don’t want to stay depressed for a second longer than I have to. When I’m sick, I am anxious to be well again. I don’t want to stay down. I want to be moving, doing, and living!

Hope to Be Healed

For joy to exist, there has to be hope. I can imagine how dismal the crippled man’s hope was after thirty-eight years. Every year tradition said the pool was stirred by an angel and that the first to enter would receive healing magic. And every year, someone else beat the man to the water. Every time for thirty-eight years running.

You’d think after thirty-eight years the man could have inched his way to the water. Instead, he stayed in the same spot and mourned his ill fate.

Then Jesus came along and didn't even offer to put Him into the pool. Because Jesus is the living, healing water. He is the miracle. He is the magic. The man was healed and Jesus told him to take up his bed and walk.

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