Throughout my life I have struggled, like many people, with all sorts of different things. I have been abused by people, neglected, ignored, abandoned. I have wallowed in self destruction and anger.
But, I find myself here in this exact place in my life filled with pure and true joy.
I want to shout it from the mountain tops!!
Where do I find my joy you may ask? (or maybe not, but I'll say anyway) Jesus Christ!
Jesus has always loved me. He has stood firmly by my side when I continuously abandoned Him, ignored Him and denied Him.
He has blessed me with a job that I truly love. And it's not the mundane tasks that I love, it's the people He has purposefully set in my path, in my days, in my line of sight that I love. It's the fact that God has healed me from the blindness of disbelief and faithlessness. He has opened my eyes and healed my heart and my family. He has re-made me!
He has blessed me with new eyes in which to view my family and people around me that allows me to find joy in them and not have unrealistic expectations of them.
I love having faith in Jesus and seeing Him work in my life and the lives of people around me. He is a comfort to me every day.
I have a little plaque on my desk that reads "Trust. 'trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.' Proverbs 3:5.
Seeing this everyday helps me to remember that relying on myself for joy or other people for joy will always lead to disappointment and dispair. True joy comes from Christ and His ultimate sacrifice for my salvation. Not from the pain He suffered, but the unimaginable love He has for us. It's beyond my minds capacity to understand the depths of His love. My heart swells as I think of that.
I hope this encourages you too, to lean not on your own understanding, but have faith in God. Only He can bring you true joy.
May God bless you!
Aubrey
