Joy

Hannah cried out to God in great sorrow — in the midst of emptiness and barrenness. She so longed for a son, even vowing to give him back to God if He would open her womb. Sure enough, “in the process of time,” the Scripture says, “Hannah conceived and bore a son” (1 Sam. 1:20). Keeping her vow to God, she took young Samuel to the house of the Lord as soon as he was weaned, telling Eli the priest, “For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition. ... As long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD” (1 Sam. 1:27, 28).

When I was a young girl, I used to belt out the old song, “I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart! Down in my heart! Down in my heart!”

I thought it would hang around—at the time I had the joy and naiveté of youth. Then I became a wife, a mother, a working woman, a grandmother—and the demanding roles gobbled up my joy. Oh, the times that I wasted and didn’t lean on the Lord! When I realize how much joy I have sacked up and hand-delivered to Satan, I want to cry.

Today, however, I have “the love of Jesus, love of Jesus, down in my heart! Down in my heart to stay!” I can claim that promise, and you can, too, if you’re a child of God. God heard Hannah’s prayers and gave her Samuel. God will hear your prayers and give you real joy. He may not answer quickly or the way you envision, but He will answer, and eventually joy will come. Our commitment is to come to Him daily and learn to sing in the midst of our own emptiness and barrenness.

Lori Copeland

Taken from Women of Faith Devotional Bible