Sometimes we only recognize the deeply rooted joy of the Spirit in hindsight. Thankfully, joy is not contingent upon our understanding. In fact, joy has very little to do with us. St. Paul explains that joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It is God’s gift to us.
When a tornado demolishes a family’s home, joy is there among the debris. After you’ve been downsized, joy is there at the bottom of the cardboard box containing the random contents of your desk. Joy befriends you, holds your hand when you find yourself painfully lonely and crushed by depression.
This unspeakable, deeply rooted, midnight joy is for all of us. It is part of God’s abundant grace toward us. We did not earn it. It is a gift of the Spirit. After tragedy, celebration, anxiety, happiness or fear, it remains.
This message is an excerpt from “Midnight joy” by Angela T. Khabeb in the November 2019 issue of Gather magazine.
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