A dear sister in the Lord asked this question in a private message. My answer is below.How would you answer her question?………………..

Dear brother Frank. May I ask a question from your experience, please? (I need to sort it out with myself, by Him.) Is “JOY IN AFFLICTION” (affliction by heartache which seems to me to be with me at my old age to my end here) Is the joy an ‘outflow’ of our security and contentment in THE TRUE LOVE PEACE AND PRESENCE AND INHERITANCE IN HIM. Or is it something that comes ‘naturally’ by The Spirit …an anointing of His Spirit, amidst the affliction of broken-heartedness and loss, failure in close relationships? Or is joy an action of the will? Please could you share some Wisdom or advice with me. Thank you!

The short answer sister, its all three, or a combination of the three and any of them individually depending upon the circumstances. I believe first and foremost it is founded upon our freedom to respond. We will not automatically respond with joy in afflictions and loss and failures or when our hearts have been broken. It depends who and what we have run to in the past, who we run to in the here and now. Do we tend to run to the world? Run to our brothers and sisters? Run to the pastor or folks in the church? If we do, we will suffer longer. When the Lord Jesus has been our high tower in all things and we run to Him then we shall know joy in the midst of these situations. Joy because we know that despite all of our dire circumstances, the Lord is with us in the midst of it. The Hebrew children were sustained in the fire by the the Lord Himself who was in the fire with them.

We know that the Lord suffered and we shall suffer to. We know that we have been called to suffer and those who suffer with Christ for His sake shall rule and reign with Him eternally. We know, we who are of the Spirit, something of what the Lord suffered for us on Calvary and how much God the Father suffered to see such things. And because we “know,’ such things we know that we could never suffer as our Lord suffered. This brings us peace. What joy for the disciples, almost drowned at seas, to see the Lord come walking on the water towards them. What joy Paul and Silas found in the depths of a dungeon, beaten and broken for His sake because the one they were intimate with was with them. Out of His presence rang the praises of God and down came the power and shook the whole building. And even if they did not sense His presence initially, as they began to praise Him, despite their circumstances. the presence of God flooded the darkened chamber. Oftentimes the darkened chambers of our hearts, darkened by loss and persecution, are flooded with the light of Christ and joy comes.

There is also an element of endurance and overcoming involved in those who suffer for the Lord’s sake. If joy came forth immediately or if the presence of God came down powerfully every time we suffered then we would all want to suffer. Yet it is to those who endure and overcome are all the promises given. Weeping may endure for a night or a season but “joy comes in the morning.”Will we “endure the night?” The Hebrew children were willing to go into the flames because of their love of God and were sure God would save them “but,” if He would not save their lives in the fire they were still not going to bow down to the gods of this world. It was not about deliverance, it was about the fact that even in the presence of our enemies who hate us, God prepares a table before us. Jesus prepared a place for us and gave the Holy Spirit that we might run to that place in times of need.

Every good soldier must be willing to die or to be maimed in the battle. We know this, the the Lord Jesus will not leave us dying on the battle-field. He will ride though the fire and through the flood of the enemy to take us up upon His horse and deliver us. At the very heart of the matter lies this from a blameless man whom God loved. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord. He is our joy. He is our peace. He is our everything and though though the whole world hates us and though we suffer the loss of all things we shall never suffer the loss of Jesus and the more we know that, the more joy that we have in every situation. We learn to be content.