Dylan, our sins separate us from God because God is righteous; He can’t tolerate sin. This is why even a small transgression creates a barrier between us and God. Big or small, our sins cause us to lose the joy of our salvation.
Our joy can sometimes seem very elusive. We may even find ourselves crying out as David did, “Lord, restore to me the joy of Your salvation!” What can we do to recover our joy in such times, and how can we avoid losing it in the first place?
Just as a delicate flower is maintained and nurtured by the proper soil, water, and sunlight, our joy is preserved by the right conditions. Here are four healthy habits that can provide the right conditions to maintain our joy.
- We Must Confess Our Sins Quickly: Whether our sins are small transgressions or serious offenses, we must confess them to the Lord. This includes grieving the Spirit. Whenever our conscience makes us aware that we’ve sinned, we shouldn’t wait to confess to the Lord. (1 John 1:9) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We confess, and God is righteous to forgive us and cleanse us. When the problem of sin is dealt with and our fellowship with Him is restored, we experience the joy of salvation once again. Learning to confess our sins without delay is a good habit to develop. There’s no reason to wait. The sooner we confess our sins and failures to the Lord, the sooner we can enjoy sweet fellowship with Him once more.
- Take in God’s Word as our spiritual food daily: We all know how grumpy and irritable we can be when we haven’t eaten and are physically hungry, or even undernourished. We experience the same thing spiritually when we haven’t been eating. If we spend time daily to delight ourselves in His Word, the words we feed on become the gladness and joy of our heart, supplying us throughout our day. Eating physical food is an enjoyment to us, but eating the Word of God brings us true and lasting inner satisfaction. A daily habit of taking in God’s Word as our spiritual nourishment will help us maintain our joy in God’s salvation.
- Speak to the Lord in prayer on a regular basis: When we come to the Lord, we don’t need to kneel down and solemnly recite a formal prayer. We can simply open our hearts and speak to the Lord Jesus in a personal way. At any time, day or night, we can talk to Him. In (John 16:24), the Lord Jesus says to “ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full.” Speaking to Him in prayer about everything brings us joy. We can even pray by simply calling upon the name of the Lord. By opening to the Lord in prayer every day and throughout the day—not only at set times or during major life events—we strengthen our loving relationship with Him. By staying in fellowship with Him, we maintain our joy.
- Fellowship with other Christians regularly: Having fellowship with other Christians also helps us maintain our joy in the Lord, since one of the greatest joys of the Christian life is to come together with others who love Jesus. Concerning the believers’ fellowship, in(1 John 1:3-4) the apostle John shows us that genuine Christian fellowship is not a duty or a ritual but a matter of joy: “That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write that our joy may be made full.”
Praying for you and Stephanie -Bill Stockham