Real Joy in Tough Times: When Sin Steals Joy
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.
One of my favorite people in the pages of scripture is King David from the Old Testament. David is called “a man after God’s own heart.” By all evaluations, David was Israel’s greatest king, and his leadership and care for the nation of Israel were remarkable.
For most of David’s life, he lived as a joyful person. Even when David was running from Saul to save his life, even when David was facing Goliath, the 9-foot giant, and even when David was battling the enemies of Israel, David was joyful. But one day that all changed. And all of that changed when David walked away from a submissive spirit to God and walked toward the life of flesh. David committed adultery, deception, and then murder.
Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of confession and a plea for forgiveness and in this great Psalm, we find some truths about joy in the life of a Christ follower.
Sin Steals Our Joy And Gladness
Psalm 51:8 tells us what happens when we allow sin to rule and reign in our lives. David prays,
“Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones You have broken rejoice.”
Think about what David is saying. He is comparing the pain of sin in a person’s life to that of a broken bone. I remember the pain I felt when I broke my ankle in high school. That is exactly what sin does in the life of a Christ follower. It causes brokenness and pain. And it robs us of joy and gladness.
The impact of sin is impossible to calculate. Perhaps you have heard this saying,
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”
That is exactly what David is expressing. Sin had taken David down a road he didn’t want to go and sin would cause him to pay a great price, one I am sure he didn’t want to pay.
Sin Steals the Joy of Our Salvation
Did you know that because of our salvation, a Christ follower can walk every day of life with joy? Salvation is the key to maintaining joy in the life of a believer. Because we have been saved, there is cause for joy. Once we are saved, Christ is Lord over the life we will live for eternity, but He is also Lord over our daily life here in the present.
But when sin takes over in our lives we lose our joy.
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12).
David didn’t lose his salvation but the joy of that salvation was gone. Now sin was reigning in David’s life and left him feeling hopeless and without joy. Sin has all kinds of impacts including a negative effect on our walk with Christ.
David realized this and in verse 12, he prays for God to restore the joy he had lost. Even in David’s sin, David knew he could turn to God in confession and be restored.
Forgiveness Leads to Joy
In Psalm 51:14 David prayed,
“Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”
The day came when David came to his spiritual senses, realized the impact of his sin, and sought the forgiveness of God. David knew that with that forgiveness, joy would be restored. The consequences of sin remained and David would see those consequences in his life for years to come. But David was forgiven, restored, and rejoicing.
A Good Prayer for Us
Thank you, Lord, for this Psalm. Not only is it a great prayer from the pen of David, but it is also a great prayer for us. Today, if you find yourself caught in the snare of sin feeling as though God is far away and feeling the guilt and weight of sinful choices, I have good news for you. You can be forgiven and restored. You can know again the joy of your salvation. Right this moment, will you stop what you are doing, read Psalm 51, confess your sin, and walk away rejoicing?
Of course, I will be glad to talk with you if you want to reach out. But you don’t need to wait for me. You can confess your sin, and be cleansed, forgiven, and restored. Then you will know the joy of salvation return to your spirit.