Today we’re continuing in this series. Our Scripture for today is Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.” (World English Bible – WEB) Yesterday we talked about Samson and how he lost God’s blessing of power with God. Today, we are looking at David. Psalm 51 is the chapter where David calls out to God in repentance for his sin with Bathsheba and for killing Uriah, her husband. David is in agony. He had lost God’s blessing of the joy of his salvation. His relationship with God was hindered.
David was known as a “man after God’s own heart”. He had a very personal relationship with God, and when he sinned, he lost that close connection. This brought about a very dark time for David. He is crying out for God to forgive him and restore his joy, to create in him “a clean heart.” (Psalm 51:10) David is begging God not to turn away from him and remove His presence from him.
We can lose God’s blessing of joy. God’s joy should be full, there should be “unspeakable joy” (I Peter 1:8), we should have exceeding joy. (I Peter 4:13) When our joy is restored, we receive power from God. We can stand firm in the face of the enemy because God’s joy gives us the power to withstand Satan’s attacks.
Like Samson, David’s fall came about from what he saw, but then David went a step further and acted on what he saw. Actually, I think his fall started when he decided to stay home instead of going to war, “at the time when kings go to war” (II Samuel 11:1 KJV) If he would have done what he was supposed to do he never would have come to this point. Sin will take you down a road you don’t want to go. Your destination will never be what you think it will be. Satan makes the journey look like a vacation, but in the end, the reality is misery and separation from God’s presence and the loss of His blessing of joy.
Losing God’s blessing of joy can come gradually. In fact, it can be so gradual that we never even recognize that we are walking away from God and losing His blessing. We can keep on that trail and then all of a sudden, it seems, we find ourselves at a place we don’t want to be, wondering how we got there. Then, like David, we cry out in agony for God to restore His joy and forgive us so that we can reconnect with Him. This is the time when we need to take account of where we are with God. Take stock of whether we have strayed and lost His blessings, and then repent and keep close to Him.
Sometimes, we can do all the right things, and yet our attitudes are not right. We can be lackadaisical in how we live for God, whether we keep our relationship on a good footing, studying the Word, praying, attending church, fellowshipping with other Believers, and reaching out to those who need Jesus by witnessing of His great love, mercy, and grace.
From time to time we need to evaluate our walk with the Lord. Is our attitude proper…it is all about Him and not us? Are our Christian actions done out of duty or out of love for God and what He has done for us? How concerned are we that people know Jesus as Savior? All these things give us an indication of our heart condition and it also tells us if we have lost God’s blessings. Where do we stand with God? Have we walked away or are we keeping our relationship with Him close and strong? Take stock of your life…where are you with God?
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