“Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation” –Psalm 51:12.
Just because salvation is for eternity, anchored forever in the faithfulness of God, does not mean you cannot lose the closeness and fellowship with our wonderful Lord. A married couple can lose their joy and intimacy for a season, although the marriage is still valid and intact.
God’s faithfulness does not wax hot and cold depending on what we do or how we felt when we woke up this morning. He does not undo our salvation when we weaken and falter. The blessings upon us are conditional to our faithfulness and may dry up, but the relationship never varies. Forever, we are His and He is ours.
My children may be in or out of my favor at given times, but they are always and forever my children. God saves us forever. And don’t we praise Him for that!!!
However. Just because the Lord brings us into His forever family (through faith in Christ, by His precious blood, as a result of His grace) and promises to “never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5) does not mean we cannot lose the joy of that relationship.
We can. And many have.
Try not to lose yours.
Jesus promises us His joy (John 15:11 and 17:13) and calls it fullness of joy (15:11 and 16:24). He says it is permanent, promising that no one can steal our joy from us (John 16:22).
Jesus sees joy as one of the essential elements of the Christian’s walk. C. S. Lewis said joy is the business of Heaven. Psalm 16:11 assures us joy is the very atmosphere of Heaven.
King David sure lost his joy.
He did it by taking his eyes off the Lord and diving headlong into sin.
That deadly plunge cost him more than he would ever know.