God Restores Our Joy After Deep Sadness
Real joy often comes on the heels of deep sadness and heartbreak.
Last November, we lost our sweet pug, Big T, after 15 years. We were heartbroken and the day he passed, I wrote a blog article about how God mends our broken heart.
Through tears, I expressed my sadness and grief, and wondered if I’d ever stop crying or missing my little buddy.
And Big T was the star of our YouTube Channel, Friday’s Forever. Thousands grieved and cried along with us.
Big T brought so much joy into our lives. Still, I know God is my source of real joy. God not only mends our broken heart, but He also wants to restore our joy.
And guess what? We picked up a new pug puppy last week. Winston is 9 weeks old and a tiny bundle of puppy energy and joy. We’re thankful to give him a forever home. He’s not replacing Big T. Instead, Winston’s a reminder of the blessings God allows in our earthly lives.
Because real joy comes from deep within us and stems directly from a personal relationship with the Lord Himself.
After deep sadness, we can find deep joy. Because real joy comes from a personal relationship with the Lord. Click To TweetRejoicing After Deep Sadness
Isn’t it amazing how God tenderly cares for us? The Lord stays near to the brokenhearted—throughout the entire grieving and healing process—then He restores our joy.
You see, God wants to bring a smile back to our face. But it’s more than that. He wants to bring joy back to our heart.
J – Journey to rejoicing.
After deep sadness, we can find deep joy. We journey toward a rejoicing heart—a heart that always praises and celebrates God no matter our circumstances.
“Shouts of joy resound in the tents of the righteous. The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things.” Psalm 118:15 (ESV)
“… for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Isaiah 8:10 (ESV)
God’s Joy Overcomes
O – Overcome life’s hard moments with God’s joy.
Real joy is the end result of God’s faithful promises. The Lord adds spiritual sources of joy to our lives that no person, not even the enemy, can take from us.
Real joy is the end result of God’s faithful promises. The Lord adds spiritual sources of joy to our lives that no person, not even the enemy, can take from us. Click To TweetGod’s joy is: Ammunition for difficult circumstances. The best medicine for a downcast spirit. A shield against attacks from the enemy.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
Deep Sadness to Deep Joy
Y – Yield to God’s ways.
In John 15, Jesus teaches His followers about God’s ways. Like to abide in Him, the true vine, then we bear fruit (joy is a fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5:22). And to keep His commandments and abide in His love. Then, Jesus says…
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 (ESV)
Friend, if you’ve been in a season of deep sadness and heartbreak, hang on and trust that joy is coming. And not some surface joy that quickly fizzles out. But a real jubilation and deep joy that takes root in your heart and soul.
Friend, if you’ve been in a season of deep sadness and heartbreak, hang on, joy is coming. And not some surface joy that quickly fizzles out. But a real jubilation and deep joy that takes root in your heart and soul. Click To TweetJ – Journey to rejoicing.
O – Overcome life’s hard moments with God’s joy.
Y – Yield to God’s ways.
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© 2024 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
Congratulations on the new puppy 🎉🎉😊👍! Winston is such a cutie❤❤!
Last September, I lost my Shitz-Tzu Echo. She was 13. Fortunately, she didn’t suffer long and went peacefully. My faith has been a big help to me as well. God has seen me through A LOT of teary moments as I know He has been for you and your husband.
God is truly an awesome God without a doubt! 🙏🙏🙏
Hey Amy, Sorry to hear about your sweet Echo. I love that for a dog name, by the way. I really don’t know how people get through loss and hard moments in life without the Lord or real hope. Thankful we serve a good God who cares about our heart and wants to give us lasting joy! God bless!
I was absolutely thrilled to “meet” Winston on your latest video, Karen! Deep grief can certainly bring us to great joy when we rely on God to mend our broken hearts. Little Winston is just the ticket! What an amazing gift God has given to the both of you.
Blessings!
Thank you, Martha! Winston is a huge blessing and we couldn’t be more grateful! “Shouts of joy resound in the tents of the righteous. The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things.” Psalm 118:15 (ESV)
What an adorable puppy. Congratulations and may he bring you years of JOY. Great analogy and encouragement Karen. Blessings
Thanks so much, Yvonne. We are so in love with him already! The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Isaiah 8:10)
Lord, I am so thankful that You are my Shepherd, and that no matter how deep the valley or dark the pit, You have gone before me and made a way. Forgive me when I complain that the way You have made for me is harder than I want it to be. I surrender my life to you, Lord, my God, and my Shepherd. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Amen! So grateful God is sovereign and we can trust His ways and path for us. No matter what tomorrow holds, we hang on knowing joy will be ours. “You make known to me the path of life; in your
Such beautiful words of comfort.. and REAL COMFORT at that: “hang on and trust that joy is coming.” Amen to this. Thanks, Karen! You are so right!
Jessica, isn’t it so comforting to know, without a doubt, that joy IS coming since we know Jesus and our heavenly Father so tenderly cares for us.
Such a heartwarming post Ms. Karen; especially this week ma’am. Thank you for the reminder.
Again, so sorry to hear about John’s passing and continue to pray for you and Mrs. Diane. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 (ESV)
I am thankful God is with us in our joys and our sadness. Thank you for this special message. 🙂
So am I, Melissa. He walks with us through it all. God bless!
Sorry about Big T. I remember his name from a blog post or two of yours. And so happy you have Winston. I’m sure he’ll be a lot of fun. We lost our dog several years ago but now we have 2 grand dogs and they take vacation at our house from time to time. We love catering to them. Yes, God gives us many, many smiles and so glad He also gives us joy. Thank you!
Thank you, Stephen. Beloved pets become part of our family and a reason for our joy. But our ultimate joy is in the Lord. God bless.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom on joy after sadness with our Grace & Truth community! I will proudly feature it on my Pinterest board for Grace & Truth Featured Posts. You can see your article here—
https://www.pinterest.com/embracingtheune/grace-truth-christian-link-up-featured-posts/.
Thanks so much, Maree. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 (ESV)
Karen, this encouraged my heart so much! Thank you for sharing your story, even the heartbreaking moments. We love our cats and whenever one has passed the grief is deep. But you are right, God is our joy and He can renew our joy. His creatures bring such delight. And Winston is adorable!
Thank you, Melissa. I’m sure since you have fur babies, you understand how much joy they bring us and become like family members. Winston is so loved already and we thank the Lord for him often. So glad the joy of the Lord is our strength. God bless!
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My wife, Sheila and I do not have children. We have our (cats) fur babies instead. Over the past five years we have lost four of our cats. My wife has had all of them since they were kittens. Jake was twenty years old when we lost him. Lilly was eighteen years old when we lost her. And Marcus and Mitch were both thirteen years old when we lost them. In the past year we lost Lilly, Marcus, and Mitch; the boys passed away within a month of each other. It broke our hearts. We had bought two kittens about two weeks before the last cat, Mitch passed away because we were trying to help him handle his grief from losing his brother and “sister” from earlier that year. His health issues unexpectedly took him three weeks after we bought the kittens?! We had just lost his twin brother a month earlier and then to lose him, too devastated us. The good Lord knew what He was doing when He allowed us to adopt Cassie and Tigger because they have been a joy and a pleasure to have in our lives even though we greatly miss our Lilly, Marcus, and Mitch. These two little spitfire fur balls are a couple of considerable adventures from one moment to the next! The old adage when they are good they are very good; but, when they are bad they are very bad rings oh so rings true of these two little darlings. We do enjoy the blessings the Lord has given us with the new additions to our family. It chimes out in accordance with what we read in Nehemiah 8:10 (New American Standard Bible, 1995),
Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Hi Clifford, thanks for sharing your sweet fur babies with me. It is so hard to lose these family members. We lost our dachshund Sadie 3 years ago when she was 15. Then Big T the pug last November at 15. I had a hard time grieving over Big T. He was a moma’s boy from the start. And the fact that he was the star of our YouTube channel and loved by that community, made it even harder to lose him. So like you and your wife, getting Winson, a new pug puppy has been such a blessing and brought us so much joy. We weren’t sure we wanted to start over with the puppy stage and potty training, but I’m glad we did. It’s so fun having a puppy. I enjoyed the scripture you shared too. God bless. Enjoy those new fur babies.