S41P7 – The joy of the Lord: a testimony
Psa. 51:11-13
Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.
No one’s Christian walk is linear. Whether we are speaking of faith, obedience, or wisdom, the graph of our lives will be a jagged line. We will have times of clear and abundant victory that make us feel completely invincible. We also will have times of great oppression that make us wonder whether we are on the right path at all. The eyes through which we see the world around us also change. Remember what you saw, heard, and thought the moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Remember the excitement with which you rushed to share this news with others even if you did not know exactly what you had experienced. That likely is not a feeling or attitude that has remained constant since then. If we want to get back to that place, we can get there through the joy of the Lord.
Jesus went so far as to die on a cross for the joy set before him, which was our salvation and all that comes with it. The joy of this salvation is a precious thing for us as it drives us to tell of our Savior to others. The joy that God imparts to us then stands as a testimony of our faith and the reason for it. The psalmist here asked God to fill him with the joy of his salvation for the purpose of sharing his message with others. He wanted God’s joy to fill him so that he could go out there and save souls. This is our Great Commission, that we would stand in the gap and lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. If we allow God to fill us with his joy, the joy that overtook us at the moment of our conversion, how much more we would desire to tell others of the One who gives us that joy!
Many scriptures guide us in the renewal and refreshment of our minds and our faith. God knows that the world we live in works to erode our faith in him. Part of this process is getting us to forget the things that God has told us and shown us. One of the greatest things we can ask God to continually bring to our minds is a remembrance of the experience of salvation. This is not just about recalling a feeling but about recalling the joy with which God filled us in that incomprehensible moment. Let us desire to recall that joy and walk in it anew so that we might tell others of it. Father, remind us of the joy of the moment of salvation so that we may live in the freshness of that experience daily and lead others to a saving knowledge of your Son.