The Bailey Drink

MY JOY

Psa. 56:13 For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Recently I have been reflecting on the sudden, unexpected change that happened to me at my conversion. It was really the very first time I became aware of the miracle power of God and the supernatural nature of true Christianity. It goes to the very heart of who we are, our will. These are the things we enjoy to do and the things we do often because, frankly, we enjoy them. It is pleasure, or the promise of pleasure, that is the fountain from which all of our actions spring. For example, we go to work to make money so we can enjoy the things money provides; things like a better house or car, nice clothes, or even our hobbies like golf or fishing. We may do all sorts of things we don’t really like (like pushing chicken manure) because of the pay check and the things we can purchase. This brings me back to that first miracle at my conversion. I lost the desire to smoke pot. Sounds simple now but back then it was huge. Every day was crowded with acquiring weed, finding a time to smoke it, or getting the money to buy it. That all changed with Christ. I simply lost the desire to get high on drugs because of this new “high” or pleasure that I found in Christ. That changed everything. Now my pleasure began to come from the Bible, going to church or small group meetings, or by sharing my faith. I want to finish today with a short quote from Augustine and how he was delivered from the bondage of sexual pleasure by finding delight in God.

“During all those years [of rebellion], where was my free will? What was the hidden, secret place from which it was summoned in a moment, so that I might bend my neck to your easy yoke? . . . How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. [There’s the key phrase and the key reality for understanding the heart of Augustinianism.] You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure , though not to flesh and blood, you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honor, though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves. . . .O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.”

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