Where Did It Go

Give me back the joy of Your salvation. Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.    Psalm 51:12 NCV

How many of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Savior remember the moment when He met us where we were and we experienced a forgiveness we’ve never experienced before. After that, there was a joy that came from deep within. It was wonderful, we heard and saw things differently, well, until life happened again. Before we knew it we were back in the old grind, just living life through the motions and although that joy was still there, we couldn’t feel it any longer. We’ve allowed the things of this world to hinder it.

Apparently David was there too. Yes the  David  who   God said was  a  man after His  own heart.  How could  that be?  I mean,  how could he lose that joy, the joy of God’s salvation and still be favored by God?  The answer is David knew he lost it, and because he knew how much God loved Him he could  be honest with Him. No pretending,  no skirting the issue, he wanted the Joy back of the relationship he had with his God , and  he knew the only  way  that would happen was to go back to where that began. Humbly admitting how much he needed God and to know His presence on a momentary basis.  Then he admitted something most of  us won’t,  he knew that he couldn’t maintain that relationship under his own power, he needed God to give him the empowerment to do so.

How about you? Is your relationship with the Lord filled with joy, even when there is nothing according to the world’s standards to be joyous about? If the answer is no, then take a lesson from David and cry out to God for Him to help you remember that He is always with you, He loves you, your sins have been forgiven to be remembered no more! Is your joy coming back, you see it never left you, you just forgot where the joy came from, the One who gave you His salvation. Now remember, you need His Spirit to be willing to remain in that joy by living in His presence.