Reestablished Joy
Thursday, December 29
Reestablished Joy
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Psalm 51:12
We all know this well-known proverb: “You never miss the water till the well runs dry”—and some of us, if we are honest, can say that we have experienced it. We never realized how important a person is until they’re gone. We don’t understand the true meaning of friendship until that relationship is no more. Even our kids, we can’t wait for them to grow up and move out, yet all we think about is the time when they were little and depended whole heartedly on us. We never realized the blessings of our church home until a relocation took us to a new city. We never appreciate the revival of fellowship until we are bed ridden. And, it’s possible, we never realized the joy of our salvation until we found ourselves without that joy.
That’s what happened to King David. We know of his sins: adultery with Bathsheba and then the ultimate cover up in the murder of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11–12). It was not until Bathsheba bore David a son that he repented of his sins. For almost a year, he lived without the joy of his salvation—possibly described in Psalm 32. In Psalm 51, we have David’s heartfelt prayer of confession to God. And in verse 12 we have his request for what he had lost: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.”
It’s easy to take salvation for granted. But when sins, attitudes, and behaviors lead us into darkness, we suddenly realize what we have lost: joy. Fortunately, joy is only a verse away. Pray the words written in Psalm 51:11 ‘Cast me not away from Thy presence; And take not Thy holy spirit from me. … Do not cast me forth from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.’
Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, thank You that I have the permanent, indwelling Holy Spirit to lead and guide me. Today I invite the Holy Spirit to come in, cleanse and restore me. Amen