As a little boy of eight years old, I can remember having a desire to preach.

That desire was there, but as so often happens, the devil manages to steal away the dreams God gives us. God has probably given you a dream. He has called you to do something important in the Kingdom of God but you are not living out the purpose for which you were created

You will never be truly happy and you will never enjoy life to the fullest until you find your calling in God. The gift God has placed in you will bless others but it will also bless you.  Paul said he was mightily opposed by the forces of the enemy, (and that can hardly be considered to be fun), but he also pointed out that he would be wretched doing anything else other than preaching the 
gospel. There is a joy in serving God that is deep and lasting and nothing the devil throws at us can shake it. For many years I tried to find happiness in my own strength. I tried alcohol, relationships, money and a long list of other things before I found Jesus. I looked for Him everywhere.The Bible says that if you seek for God you will find Him and that is true. In Hebrews 11 the Bible says that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Desperation will make a person diligent. It seems that we only really get serious about searching for God when we come to the end of our rope and we are reaching up to touch bottom.

The reason Jesus is called the Pearl of Great Price, the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, is because people who finally meet Him struggle to put into words the value that they place on their relationship with Him.  It is amazing, truly amazing, to find yourself with a friend who has all the power in
the universe in His hands and who loves you with an everlasting love so much so that dying for you was endured because of the joy set before Him and YOU are HIS JOY. You are the reason He gets a sparkle in His eye. You are the one His soul finds pleasure in. And then just as a side notion He is the one who created the universe including all the Texas sunsets and all the puppies and the Colorado Rocky Mountains, for starters. What is not to like about Him? The Bible tells us that there is no beauty that we
should desire Him. That means that he is not going to try to impress you with His good looks, and the flip side of that is that you cannot impress Him with your good looks. He doesn't care if you are old, young, tall, short, blond, brunette. The Bible tells us that man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart. Jesus is looking for someone with a good, loving, merciful heart; a heart that will love Him for who He is, not for what He looks like. 

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, the Bible says. The Bible says He came to destroy the works of the devil and that is precisely what He did. He has made it possible for us to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. God is love. Those who know Him have a joy that makes them strong. There is a supernatural pep in their step. All who see them marvel and say, "Wow. I wish I could be joyful and positive like that. "No matter what happens, a thousand could fall on one side, and ten thousand could fall on the other side, but those who have taken refuge in Jesus just keep on keeping on.

God is so God!
    Pastor
Larry C. Cobb