Joy – December 4, 2022

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

Joy

Anna Mary Robertson was an old woman. And she had had a hard life. She was the third of ten children born to a farmer in the 1860s. Life on a farm in the 1800s meant hours of manual toil, day after day.

In 1887, Anna married a farmer, and the hard work continued. As the years went on, she experienced the unspeakable grief of a mother watching her child die in infancy. Anna, however, went through this not just once but five times.

Then her husband died from a heart attack. She continued life as a widow. By the time she reached her 70s, arthritis was taking over her body. She was no longer able to do the things she used to do. It was then that Anna Mary Robertson picked up a brush and began to paint.

She never had any formal training. Nevertheless, her pictures radiated something that everyday people and art critics alike could not resist. They radiated something we might not expect. Her pictures radiated joy. That is how Anna Mary Robertson Moses–Grandma Moses–got her start as an artist. She picked up her brush and shared her joy. And she kept right on sharing her joy until the age of 101.

As Christians, you and I know we are in for a rough ride during our short life on this earth. After all, that is what our sin has done. It has made a misery of everything it has touched.

But that’s why Jesus came. He came to rescue us. And through his perfect life and death on our behalf, that’s what he has done. Through faith in him, we stand forgiven. Even in the worst of our difficult moments our Savior will carry us through. That means that the best is yet to come.

And so, pick up your brush. Paint your picture. Share the joy. Tell the story of what Jesus has done for you.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in those moments when life is hard, remind me of the joy. Remind me of your gospel. Remind me of you. Amen.