God bless J, and God bless Jof.

Jof, pray for J's joy. We're reminded daily of all the bad things done to us and how miserable life is when today has no joy. But when you are happy, your painful experiences of yesterday become a testimony rather than something you resent. This is what happened to Joseph in the Bible. When he was sold into slavery because of the jealousy of his brothers, for years he harbored resentment, hurt, and anger. And when he finally did see his brothers(some twenty plus years later), just to look at them could put him to tears. But the joy of his then present life eventually healed him. Joseph became prime minister of Egypt and bore children there. When his children were first born, he was so overwhelmed with joy that he named his first son Manasseh, which means God has made me forget all of my troubles. And he named his second son Ephraim, which means God has blessed me in the land of my affliction(Ge.41:51,52). So the very thing that devil wanted to use to make Joseph bitter, God used it as a testimony to show the world what he can do for us no matter how dire our circumstances are. Joseph's joy of his then new life overwhelmed him so much that the pain of his past had no room to continue to fester. What a powerful story!

So it's like that now. God wants to overwhelm us with so much joy today, that the pain of yesterday will just wither away. That pain will become our testimony rather than the thing that continues to remind us how bad life is. So the key for your friend is for him to submit to God so that God can give him new experiences that will overwhelm him with joy. It's then that he will love life again.

I will pray for him, especially for his joy.

God bless!

Dear Heavenly Father,
Work in jof's brother heart so he will think and act according to your good purpose. In the most precious name of your beloved Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen.