Listening to Pastor speak about Joy today really struck home for me. I keep asking God why nothing changes in my situation. Why after 4 years we are still homeless and jobless. We are faithful and doing what I thought we were supposed to be doing to live our lives for Christ.Yet as I heard Pastor Dusty say those words, “You can’t have joy without rejoicing.” I knew in my heart I had not been joyful. I had brought my family down to earthly things. Complaining about our situation to my husband who felt helpless to change it with out a good income instead of rejoicing that we have shelter and are all together. Getting angry when I am mistreated or annoyed by another instead of rejoicing that they trust me enough to let their guard down.
Rejoicing is the outward expression, the confession, of joy in your life and without that confession there can simply not be joy. Everything else is just simply temporal happiness that depends on your current mood. I know this is something I have to change. I pray the Lord does his good work in my heart to that end. Because unless I begin to rejoice always what have I gained, certainly not the joy of my Saviour. But what I have lost goes much further than myself, I have set up all who know me to fail at finding joy in Him as well. What better way to point someone to the cross than to reveal the joy it affords me in even the lowest of times. I should know these things, a long struggle with depression shows me that Jesus is the center of it all and yet I still turn inward and fix my eyes within instead of fixing my eyes on Him. How amazing is our LORD that even while I refuse to see he is my saving grace and never gives up on me. For that I rejoice today!
If you are interested in hearing some of Pastor Dusty’s or Pastor Dave’s sermons visit Ferguson Church of the Nazarene to hear recorded archived messages. They are always timely.
Mandy
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