For Satan so Tricked their Minds…

Ensign, November 2008, pg 28; “‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.’ The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.” – Joseph Wirthin, “Come What May and Love It”

Ephesians 2:8-9; “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

I remember the last few months of my Mormon life like it was yesterday.  I was exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I had finally come to the end of myself. I had two kids under the age of two. My other daughter had died four years previously.  I had an undiagnosed disease of MS raging through my body. My youngest baby was born with a cleft lip and palate and a heart condition as I began praying to Jesus that if heaven meant I’d be eternally pregnant I was opting for hell. 

I had failed miserably.  I wanted to please Jesus and wanted to hear from Him, but the silence I heard was deafening. This was the condition I was in on the day I accepted Him into my life to be my God and Savior. From the moment I asked Him to live in my heart my life immediately did a 180.  I was supernaturally changed in the blink of an eye and it wasn’t by performing any other work or because of any valiant effort on my part. 

I prayed in desperation for Him to rescue me because I knew I was sinking into a world I feared.  I had been a doubting Thomas all my life and the prodigal child who wanted to do things my way because of my selfish pride.  All those “works” I kept performing led me to the dead end alley I found myself on that Palm Sunday of ’93. 

Jesus wants us to find joy in Him, but the joy isn’t found in some mythological story we’ve made up by a “plan of happiness”.  We’re the recipients of joy because of the work performed by the Holy Spirit in our lives – it’s called “the fruits of the Spirit” – Gal. 5:22-23.

The happiness we inherit and experience is knowing that we belong to Him and the assurance He gives us each and every day.

Don’t be fooled my friends!  You can’t manufacture happiness any more than you could flap your arms to get to the moon. 

“God is not looking for people to work for Him so much as He is looking for people who will let Him work for them…He will not surrender the glory of being the giver.” – John Piper, Desiring God.