ARE YOU MISSING THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
(Psalm 51:12)

MEDITATION:
As we allow God to mature us spiritually, we develop a greater
understanding of the powerfulness of sin and its consequences.
We know that God will forgive our sins, but we could still have
issues, couldn’t we?

When we have issues, we need to be careful and realize that lingering
problems are not necessarily an indication that God has not forgiven
us. Satan would like for all believers to go through life with a feeling
that they have not been forgiven. If he can do that, then he knows we
will lose the joy of our salvation. And, when we lose the joy we should
be experiencing, our entire countenance and demeanor will be impacted
in a negative way.

Have you ever watched children playing and laughing? Watching
them giggle and laugh brings pleasure to the parents, doesn’t it?
Why? Because they know the children are enjoying themselves. As
parents, we know they feel safe and secure as a result of our presence.

Don’t you think that God would also enjoy seeing His children
laughing and enjoying life. It doesn’t mean we are irresponsible
and that we don’t take seriously the things we should; it just means
that we have a happiness that is a result of feeling safe and secure
in His presence.

Unfortunately many people take themselves too serious and have
forgotten how joy feels. If we are honest with ourselves, we know
joy is something we all desire, but may not openly admit that we
want it. Disappointment in others can cause us to lose our joy (if
we allow it to). The truth is, we can’t expect everyone to do things
exactly like we think they should.

What if someone has lied to you. or purposefully hurt you? Should
you allow their actions to steal your joy? If we do, our lives will be
controlled by the actions of others, rather than being guided by the
One who loves us unconditionally. Sin can also cause also cause us to
lose our joy, if we yield to it. Temptation is not a sin, but cultivating
it in our minds with intentions of yielding to it, is the sin.

What is our best line of defense to sin?
    – We need to be armed spiritually and realize how easily sin
        can find its way into our lives.
            Sometimes it is conniving and subtle, but there are times
            when it can also come rushing into our lives when we least
            expect it. Most of us can probably think of a time when sin
            was far from our thoughts (possibly even while we were at
            church), but suddenly something or someone we see, or a
            word we heard can trigger a sinful thought ‘out of the blue’.
            It is something completely opposite to where our thoughts
            were directed, and it reminds us of the activeness and power
            of the evil one.

    – How should we handle it? We need to stop it at its onset (which
        can be a real challenge at times). Satan is cunning and he knows
        exactly what areas of our lives are most vulnerable to sinning.
        It could be our attitude, our emotion, our lust, our attraction
        to addictive habits, or any number of other things. No matter
        where he tempts us, we know we have been engaged in a battle
        with a more than fearsome foe who wants to harm us.

    – When we realize the magnitude of our battle, we need to realize
        and admit that we cannot have victory over his attacks unless
        we have an advocate who knows the enemy and his techniques.
        If we continue to entertain the thoughts Satan plants our mind,
        we are destined to be defeated. But if we redirect our thoughts,
        and look to God and not the sin, we can enjoy victory over the
        assaults of the evil one. Why? Because even though it can be very
        difficult to change our focus from the enticing sinful thoughts that
        were planted in our mind, when we look to God and not to the sin
        we know that we are doing what is right. Focusing on one, means
        we have to turn our back to the other; we cannot look toward both
        of them at the same time.

We may think we have the ability to fight without ‘bothering’ God, but
the truth is, we’re not that strong. When we are under attack, we need
to call on the Lord’s name and ask Him to fight the battle for us. Satan
has been attacking people for many more years than we have defended
against him, so he’s better in the battle than we are. We need to pray
and develop a close fellowship with the Lord so He will fight for us when
we call on Him.

In our everyday life, when we have a close friend, it is a special type
of relationship that we don’t have with others. In you are married,
hopefully that close friend is your spouse. In the spiritual world,
that close friend HAS to be the Lord.

We need to read the bible and allow God’s Word to help keep us clean.
We need to avoid worshipping alone; we need to be with other believers.
We need to allow the Holy Spirit to have full control of our lives.

David yielded to the temptation of sin with Bathsheba for several reasons:
    – He looked at her and not to God.
    – He failed to pray and ask for God’s help.
    – He was alone with what his eyes could see and his mind could think;
        he was not with other saints, nor was he on the battlefield where he
        should have been as the leader of the people.
    – He did not depend on the Holy Spirit.

ACTION:
Have you lost the joy of your salvation? What has caused this loss?
Is it a result of what others have done, or something you have done?
In either case, only YOU can make the necessary changes to regain
the joy. If you think others have caused it, then your forgiveness is
required. If it is a result of sin in your life, then God’s forgiveness
is required.

Arm yourself spiritually; guard your eyes and your thoughts. Look
to God and not to the temptation. Call on His name and ask Him to
fight the battle for you. Pray and develop a close friendship with the
Lord. Read God’s Word and meditate on what it says. Worship with
other believers. Allow the Holy Spirit to have full control of your life.
And most of all, have faith that when You call on the Lord, He will
hear your prayers and answer them in the best possible way.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for allowing the evil one to
cause me to have thoughts that even though I’ve asked for
Your forgiveness, I have not been forgiven. Help me to not
only remember that You have promised to forgive me when
I confess my sins, but to also learn to forgive myself. I know
that as long as I am consumed with guilt, I will not be able
to feel a close relationship with You. Encourage me to accept
Your forgiveness and refocus so I can resist temptations (with
the help of the Holy Spirit), and enjoy once again my closeness
with You.”

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