From the Brink of Temptation to the Joy of His Presence

Last night after my church's small group gathering, I felt incredibly discouraged. My heart was heavy, and I found myself longing to escape—to go back to the city, back to the old pleasures I once indulged in, back to the fleeting comfort of the clubbing scene.

But as I got there, something shifted.

The Holy Spirit—Ruach Hakodesh—was at work.

Just as Jesus says in John 3, those born of the Spirit are transformed; and in that moment, I realized that my desires were no longer my own. What once appealed to me now seemed hollow. As I watched people stagger by in drunkenness, laughter masking emptiness, it struck me:

this is not life—it’s walking among the dead.

My heart echoed the words of Psalm 73:25: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.” Nothing in that place could satisfy me. I didn’t want it anymore. All I longed for was to know God more deeply and more intimately.

The next morning, I woke up with a heart full of gratitude. I joined my brothers in Christ for our men’s book club.

Together, we shared food, laughter, Scripture, and deep fellowship.

“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46).

I tasted true joy—not from the world, but from the family of faithful believers, and the goodness of our King.