There is a song we sing here in our prison chapels about trading our sorrows for the joy of the Lord. This always struck me as an unfair transaction: I give God my heartache, and He gives me joy. Who would ever do that for a person in prison? Yet who wouldn’t want that? Furthermore, if this trade really is such a good deal, why aren’t there more joyful Christians?
Many of us learn early on that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. So maybe we are sure there must be “a catch” to this God-instigated trade. We smile on the outside, but we are suspicious and wary of a joy that truly can be traded for sorrow.
Or perhaps we are hesitant to accept the trade because we know we haven’t paid for it or earned it. Jesus paid the ultimate price to win back joy for you. He faced death through tears of deep anguish so that you could reap with songs of joy. Remember the great things He has done for you, faithfully bringing you through the captivity and weeping of your sin and trading it all for His joy!