APRIL 10 – JOY EVEN IN AFFLICTION!

“Make us glad according to the days in which you have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil” (Psalm 90:15).

“We have been afflicted. Make us happy” has been the resentment of many. Those who struggle in sorrows, sadness and darkness will be longing for the light of happiness. Is it not?

“Make us happy” is the prayer, which the Godly man Moses made that day, pouring out his heart. He did not seek “Make us happy” simply, but prayed to ask “Make us glad according to the days of our suffering”.

The years in which they saw evils came before his imagination. They were facing evils in Egypt for around four hundred years. They lived as slaves and were forced to carry out physically heavy tasks. They were toiling in tasks like cutting, burning and carrying of bricks for the whole of their lifetime. They did not provide even the straw, which is essential for sintering the bricks. The taskmasters whipped and ill-treated them. Their life was bitter to them.

Even after they came out of the bondage of Pharaoh, their struggle did not fully come to an end. They walked continuously in the wilderness. It was not for a month or two, but they continued to walk for forty years.  Will anyone like to stay in a desert? Indeed Canaan, where honey and milk flew, was before them, but there were numerous hurdles for them in inheriting the same.

Moses pleaded, “Make us glad according to the days in which you have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil.” You may have come across sorrows and sadness. You may have been experiencing strong winds and cyclones for some years. The stormy winds and the turbulent sea might have made you diffident. Will you join with Moses and plead, “God, make us happy”?

Dear children of God, believe and hold firmly that Canaan is nearby. God will make you happy, and your tears will turn into joy. Your sorrow will turn into joy. You will be experiencing happy years in proportion to the years of sadness which you came across.

To meditate: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).