The Source of My Strength and Happiness

At a young age, I was fortunate enough to have been shoved onto a bus on Sunday mornings in the late 70’s and early 80’s by my parents. That bus went to Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicopee, MA.

During that time at the church, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior and was baptized in that church.

But life happens and I found myself away from the church for many years.

I was lost.

During that time though, I found myself with a natural urge to learn and study personal development, which I have done for the last 25 years. I devoured that information. Whenever a “new” self help or personal development book came out I was at the store buying it. I had cassette programs when they were in style and CD’s when that format took over followed by most recently MP3’s.

There was a theme that kept reoccurring over and over in these messages and that was that I am responsible for the results that I achieve and that my happiness depends on me. I mean if I relied on others to make me happy, I would end up being a very unhappy person.

I had reasonable success in all the jobs that I have had, I have wonderful kids from a marriage that didn’t work out.

I am currently with a wonderful woman that is a true blessing to me and we take care of several kids through the foster care system and we accept these children as our own.

I have felt fortunate for most of my life BUT… I knew deep down inside that something was missing terribly in my life.

Over the last couple of years, I have been listening to Glenn Beck and being a conservative, I liked what he had to say. Well the beginning of 2010 , he started to talk about his Restoring Honor Rally that he had planned to have in Washington, DC on 8/28/2010.

At first I thought that would be nice to attend and left it at that but as the time moved forward, I really felt compelled to go.

I mentioned to Tracy a couple of times and she basically said that the kids are going back to school on that Monday and it wouldn’t be a good weekend. As it got nearer to that date, it didn’t look like I was going to be able to have the financial resources to get down there and it didn’t seem like Tracy was really up to going. So I basically gave up on the idea.

About 2 weeks prior to the event, Tracy, who is absolutely a wonderful woman, came to me and asked me if I was still interested in going “that rally I was telling her about?” and I said, “Yeah, why?????”

And she proceeded to tell me that she had arranged for us to go down for that weekend leaving on Friday and coming back on Sunday.

I just didn’t know what to say but “Thank You.”

Well we made the trip to Washington and it was a wonderful weekend and the rally was for me one of the most moving events that I had ever experienced.

The part of the message that effected me the most was that we need to turn back to God.

Two weeks later, I went back to Tabernacle Baptist Church, now named Life Point Church and I haven’t missed a week.

I have turned from studying the personal development books to studying the Bible on a daily basis.

This is where I have been going for my source of strength and happiness.

I have turned my life back over to Jesus and I am working daily to stay on the right path. This is certainly a challenge day in and say out.

But praying, studying and looking for ways to help others is a challenge that I accept with open arms.

I realized that I am a sinner and I need strength from a source that is not of this earth, I thought I could do it all by myself.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

“Jesus saith unto him. I am THE way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. There is NO ONE with the ability to provide me the wisdom to live my life other then Him.

I also realized that in order to follow Jesus, I am going to have to change the way I deal with myself and others.

Everything that I see around me is created by God. Everything that I have is because of His unconditional love for me.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

This is a love that can not be denied. Jesus was sent to earth in order to die for our sins, it was the ultimate gift in unconditional love.

I hope you have a chance to investigate this for yourself and I hope that you can experience it.

God Bless You,

John Clark