rejoice deeply


This morning, my favorite pastor preached a sermon that was full of things that awaken my heart. He spoke of friends and relationships that needed mending, of hearts that had been injured, of brokenness that had been experienced. He spoke of rejoicing in the Lord and of God's peace which surpasses understanding and of thinking on excellent things. He spoke of how we need to rejoice in the Lord as a way through our broken relationships. He spoke of how we are to help each other to live out this glorious plan of reconciliation. And he said that this is not easy. But it is necessary. 

This stirred and awakened my soul because I needed to hear that message. I felt a deep "Yes!" resounding in my soul with his words that washed over me like the ocean waves, calling to my heart to be washed clean and made new and restored. 

This deep truth that rejoicing leads to restoration needed to be told to my soul today. This deep truth to think on the things that are lovely, admirable, excellent, praise-worthy, and good as a way toward reconciliation was a reminder that my soul needed. A reminder to count my blessings and gifts instead of being weighed down in the muck and pain and brokenness. 

We will not escape brokenness. And finding reconciliation and restoration does not mean that we move past brokenness. Rather to live in love with one another is to hold each other as broken people and love anyway. To live reconciled and restored means that we acknowledge that we are broken and rejoice in the Lord anyway while calling forth each others identity as beloved children of God. 

What a powerful love this is! To be wounded and yet rejoice, to be restored through rejoicing, to be broken and yet to be called beloved. This is the deep truth that stirred my soul this morning and called my soul to rejoice deeply in the Lord and to search for the good that is present. 

*To read all the posts in this write 31 days series, click on the #write31days label at the bottom of this post.  

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