Joseph & Joy

On Saturday night, my wife and I and some friends attended Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lucy, a very talented friend of ours was playing the Narrator, the female lead. Her five children were also in the production so we were looking forward to this very much.

The show was absolutely amazing and I was blown away by the talent level of the cast.

At different points during the show I found myself in tears. At first I thought it was because of the talent that was on display (which does make me somewhat emotional for some reason). But then I realized that the tears were for something else because they only seemed to be there when Lucy was performing during certain scenes.

Lucy has been going through some gut-wrenching stuff recently, and it has really devastated her. She has been put through the wringer. Yet, here she was on Saturday, a picture of joy, doing a phenomenal job as the Narrator. I have seen this production before and she was absolutely perfect for this role (as were each of her kids in their roles)!

Anyone who didn’t know her would have no idea the tough times she is going through. I think this is why I was choked up. She was practicing what Paul told us to do in Philippians 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (emphasis mine) Paul doesn’t say to rejoice only when things are going our way. He says, always! In fact, Paul penned these words while sitting in a jail cell. Rejoice in the Lord always. Just what Lucy did.

From a human perspective, being joyful when things in our life are going south is impossible. It is only because Lucy is filled with the joy of the Lord, that she is able to do this. The same can be true for us.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b