"You wonder why I'm smiling through the thunder..." This is a line from a song written by Dottie Rambo. I love the song because it is all about Jesus being our "Harbor in the time of Storm". I like it when people notice the "Life" in me and I can come back with the answer... "It is the Joy of the Lord!"
There was a time many years ago that I did not have this Joy, or even a smile for that matter. A life of sin, abuse, criticism and self-loathing had taken its toll. I could almost feel the despair wrapped around me like a stifling straitjacket of bondage. At times it even felt as if I couldn't breathe. Whatever I did, wherever I went, it was as if I were being led along by some sort of invisible halter. I was numb. I was lifeless. Living or dying, it didn't matter. Nothing could wipe away the shame I felt from things that had been done to me and things I had done to myself and others. All I was doing was existing. I found nothing to fix the condition I was in.
During this time of desperation there were people I had yet to meet and some I never would, who were praying for my salvation. I was unaware and the word salvation was not part of my vocabulary. Through a series of events, I was finally led to a simple altar at the front of a small church in the middle of the night. A pastor I had never met and a handful of relatives I hadn't seen in years were surrounding me with prayers and tears. Soon I was sobbing and with doubt in my mind because of my disgusting state of being, I dared ask the one I was told loved me, to please forgive me.
That was the first step toward being filled to overflowing with the Spirit of Almighty God and having my life turned upside down by that same Spirt that raised Christ from the dead! Overwhelming Love flooded my soul and a Joy beyond comprehension arose within me and began to eradicate every ounce of guilt, shame and dirtiness. Oh, yes, there were times when I had tried to push all of this deep down inside and I walked in falsehood. However, my faithful Savior knew it all had to come to the surface and washed completely out of my heart and mind.
The day the reality of His love for me penetrated my inner being and shame, guilt and hatred of myself were replaced with "Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory" no one could ever tell me again that I was not loved or that Jesus and what he did for me on the Cross was not real.
Now, my life glows with the reality of a changed life by the Power and Blood of Jesus Christ. It glows with the Joy that erupts with the truth that he is coming again to take me, his beautiful, cleansed, forgiven daughter to be with him where he is. The Hope of Eternity is Mine!
The problems of life did not leave me. I "smile through the thunder" because I am no longer being led along by the halter of my own sin, or of Satan, the enemy and hater of my soul. I am now being led by His unseen hand, always guiding my footsteps as the words to this same song proclaim. I am being led by the Spirit of the Living God and my Savior Jesus Christ. I have been brought out of the Kingdom of Darkness and transported into the Kingdom of Light.
His life within me creates a joy that cannot be hidden. It is a joy that strengthens me beyond measure. It is a joy that assures me that my future is secure in the Creator. It is a joy that I don't keep only for myself. It is a joy that I pray will always exude through me to others that they can take hold of what I have taken hold of and together we can await that thundering shout to be heard from the Lord himself and the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet call. He is returning!
Ephesians 2:1-5 "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved."
If you have never experienced this joy... seek and you shall find HIM. If you have experienced it, never forget your first love experience. Never let the light of your joy fade. People are dying physically and spiritually from lack of hope. Let them be drawn to Christ through the Joy in your life today.
Thank you for letting me, through this epistle, share a portion of my testimony with you. May God richly bless you with his Joy today and always!
