Fresh Joy

Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalms 51:12 NAS

Recently I have been pondering “the joy of my salvation” and why at times it seems not to be as full and complete as when I first became a Christ follower. My heart longs to abide in the fresh joy I experienced then.

My answer came in a women’s Bible study. As we were preparing for our lesson, we began by singing a song taken from Psalm 51. It suddenly hit me as the words jumped off the page. I had memorized the scripture incorrectly. It did not say “my salvation” as I had been meditating on. It said “Thy salvation!” The emphasis was on the Lord and not me. It was He who placed the hollow spot in our hearts that could only be filled by Him. He provided our way to Heaven by sending Jesus to atone for our sins. It is He who draws our hearts unto Himself and gives us salvation through forgiveness of our sins. The only thing we bring to Him is our iniquity and sincere repentance. In return, we receive joy as we accept the keys to Heaven.

To experience the Lord’s gift of true joy, the focus must remain on Him. If He is not recognized as the originator of our joy as well as our salvation then we are out of focus. We miss the point, and the warmth of His joy becomes diminished in the glare of “me.”

Our joy will be made complete when we give Him first place and all the honor and glory that are rightfully His.

 Father, thank you for reminding us that when we put You first, we find fresh joy every day. Amen.

©2012 Bonnie Mae Evans