| “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” |
| —Psalm 51:12 |
Do you feel joyful? I’m not talking about happiness. A long-ago pastor once told his congregation that “happiness” was a quality of a child. But, genuine “joy” had an eternal quality that surpassed the normal human foibles. Whether or not that’s true, I do know that joy has a depth to it that happiness does not possess.
It is very easy in the darkened world in which we live to lose one’s joy. Every day we are assailed by trials, tribulations, circumstances, annoyances, provocations, and a host of other events, all of which tend to steal our joy. We can determine to hold onto our joy. But, the moment we feel secure in protecting our joy, something will happen to take that joy away.
Is there a source of joy that will endure against the onslaughts of life? I believe there is. And, I believe that King David learned how to pray during a time of great trial in his life and, in so doing, found that unbending source of joy.
David had sinned by lusting after Bathsheba, the wife of one of his key soldiers. He slept with her and she became pregnant while her husband was at the far-away battle. When the husband came home—his name was Uriah the Hittite—David urged him to go to his own house, hoping that Uriah would sleep with his wife and thus hide the true father of this child. But, Uriah refused to go to his house as long as his fellow soldiers were at the battle. So, David ordered his general to place Uriah at the very front line where he would more likely be killed. And, he was killed.
When Bathsheba gave birth, the baby died. Not long after that, the Prophet Nathan came to confront David about the sin David had committed. In response, David prayed one of the most powerful prayers of confession and repentance in all of Scripture. It is to this prayer that the following verse belongs, as found in Psalm 51:12:
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
No one had experienced quite the same deep trouble that David had experienced in this horrible moment of his life. He had undone a life of devoted service to God in one moment of unbridled lust. It is interesting that in speaking about David, the Scripture records these words in 1 Kings 15:5:
For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
Imagine having that kind of a reputation. The only genuine failure in David’s life was this sin—the very one that had stolen David’s joy. But, the good news for David and for us today: God is a “Joy-Restorer.” Yes! God restores the joys of those who come to Him in confession and true repentance.
As we begin this day, if we need to bolster our joy, let’s pray David’s prayer. We may not have sinned in the same way David did. But, we have sinned. That’s why we need a Savior. That’s why God sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place. Let’s ask God to restore our joy. If we do, I know that He will.
Based on a blog originally posted on Friday, January 27, 2017
