11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11 NKJV)

Scripture tells us two things, life should be filled with joy and that we will have tribulations. So how do we reconcile the two?

Well, we cannot begin to address this without recognizing that scripture clearly points out to us that joy is only found in the Lord. If we do not start with this we cannot hope to reconcile these two. We put too much stock in finding joy in so many other places other than in God. Thus, we struggle when tribulations hit with finding our joy. God has to be at the root of everything in our lives. If He is not then every little thing that happens in this world will cause us to drift off path and joy will be elusive.

Look to our scripture and we can see that we are given this guidance. “Show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy!” If we are not seeking joy in the right place we will continually struggle with the reasons and responses to tribulations.

Reflect on: Where you find joy. Are you looking in all the wrong places?