All Earth is Hopeful - December 19th

Finding Joy in Difficult Times

As I write this devotion reflecting on joy, I think hard about where I have experienced it. This year has been devastating for so many people. We have been isolated, facing economic hardship, watching our country implode, and witnessing COVID-19 cast a shadow over our lives. Everywhere I look, I see darkness. Sickness and suffering and fear. When will it end? Where is the joy?

I have found it, not through trying to convince myself with words like “it will get better”, but through witnessing the acts of others. That is where I see God!

I see God in the swift movement of doctors and nurses trying to beat the clock to save lives. I see God in the eyes of teachers trying to connect to their students through a screen, never giving up on providing the best education possible. I see God in the pastors trying to keep congregations emotionally and spiritually connected across time and space. I see God in the people delivering pizzas to voters waiting hours in line.

God is in people. Joy is in people. If we can see through the haze of confusion, division, and fear, we can find God in ordinary acts by extraordinary people. That is where joy can be found. – Gina Johnson