Tears of Real Joy

Tears ran down her face as she soaked in the words on the page. She had been reading her daily Bible study, and today's message hit her harder than anything had in a long time. For months, she had been striving to draw closer to God, sometimes feeling his presence and peace and other times wondering if He was even real. But these words set a flame in her soul and captivated her heart, making it impossible for her to deny the very real and personal King of Kings.

Her tears were not only the release of anxieties, frustrations, and doubts; they were also an outpouring of true joy that she had not experienced in some time. She had felt happiness and gratitude for all of God's blessings. She had understood the richness of her relationships and of so many other aspects of her life. But for weeks, or maybe months, she had not experienced the real, overwhelming, undeniable joy and peace that come from trusting in the Lord's love and goodness. And now, she felt the shedding of her petty worries and fears as the joy of God's presence filled her. The tears fell, cleansing her heart of all the needless doubts and making room for the truth within these words.

"...God is not only the answer to a thousand needs, He is the answer to a thousand wants. He is the fulfillment of our chief desire in all of life. For whether or not we've every recognized it, what we desire is unfailing love. Oh, God, awake our souls to see--You are what we want, not just what we need. Yes, our life's protection, but also our heart's affection. Yes, our soul's salvation, but also our heart's exhilaration. Unfailing love. A love that will not let me go!"

She read the sentences over and over again, sensing the weight of their message yet also feeling the lifting of a burden long carried. She didn't understand why such words were touching her now, when she had really known this all along. She had known... but she had not absorbed the reality of God's unfailing love. She had not been going through her days with the idea that He was her soul's exhilaration! And in this moment, she cried for joy knowing that He had never let her go and He would never let her go!

Yes, these were tears of real joy.