Imagine a similar picture to Adam and Eve in the garden, walking with God, knowing Him personally and without sin.  Yet, they had the ability to sin, just not a sin nature at that time.  For us now, we have character development opportunities at every turn, so let’s imagine for a minute two character traits available to us that are present in all believers to some degree: Joy and Trust in God.

Imagine for a minute that Joy and Trust are best of friends or even a husband and wife, they are bound to each other by threads of divine love.  They work in tandem day in and day out and deeply enjoy one another’s fellowship.  As they encounter life’s difficulties, Joy deepens in her character as she finds her strength in the love of God and love for others God has placed in her life.  Trust gets tougher and tighter to the Lord of glory as he leans on the Master’s chest and considers His stories as true and not just nice tales.  Trust and Joy become so tight that as we are observing their relationship, we can’t quite make out which one is which as their dance through this life becomes more swift and beautiful, almost like a Spirit-inspired song.  They move with more and more grace and truth to each step, and their motions are more and more in sync.  Their motive is the heart of God and their steps are pleasing to Him.

Psalm 119 is packed with mentions of both deep joy and deep trust in our God.  I was impacted by verses 12 to 16 this morning and this picture of joy and trust in God came to mind.  I hope it’s encouraging, friends.

Much love,

– Torrey