Overwhelmed With Joy

This is a guest post by my friend Katelyn Ladd.  She is everything a friend should be.  She loves Jesus, loves others, and points me towards an eternal mindset.  I hope you enjoy this awesome post about God's work in her life these days.  I know I did.
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Ever felt like the joy of the Lord was completely overflowing in your life? I hadn't felt that in a long while, in fact, I had been really struggling with being joyful. So, for a few days now I have been changing the way that I pray. Instead of just asking God to give me joy, I have been spending time rejoicing in the salvation that I have been given. When you spend time remembering what God has done, and praising Him for it, it will fill you with joy. A sermon that I listened to a few days ago, by John Piper, also changed my way of thinking. The message was on Psalm 51. In this psalm David is repenting of some pretty major sin. Piper said something that struck me. He said that David's sin, at the core, was not the adultery that he committed with Bathsheba, or the fact that he murdered a man. No, his sin began when he stopped rejoicing in his salvation.That's why David says this:

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation..." Psalm 51:12

To say the least, I have been learning a lot about joy, and I have been praying differently about having joy.

At youth group last night, God blessed me with another opportunity to rejoice in my salvation. He gave me a burden for a lost soul. There was a new girl who came for the first time, she pretty much knew absolutely nothing about the gospel, and God gave me a love for her. After small group I was overwhelmed by her need for a Savior, thinking about her need, caused me to rejoice even more in the salvation that I have already received. I came home from youth group last night, and I felt like I was overflowing with joy.

I am rejoicing in the Lord because of the salvation that I have been given, and I am rejoicing in the opportunity that He has given me to share the joy that I have with someone who has never experienced it.

Carly, thanks for letting me post! --KJL