Have You Forgotten Your Joy?

We, Americans as a whole, are a privileged people. We have homes, cars, food, clothes, and toys. Why, then, do we not find our joy?
The simple reason is because we are trying to find joy in the wrong place. Joy is not found in the store, it is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Psalm 51:12 (NASB) states, “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
Do you remember when you made the decision to become a Christian and follow Jesus for the rest of your life? What did that feel like? Were you angry or depressed? Probably not. When you decided to “carry your cross”, so-to-speak, and follow Christ, you had hope; you had joy. That is true joy. Knowing that Jesus died for you and that you can now be with Him forevermore in heaven should bring you indescribable joy…and it probably did…then life happened.
In ministry it’s easy to lose your joy, but that will rob your service of it’s power.
Life gets in the way of our joy. We “forget” that this world is not our home. Our jobs, families, and responsibilities keep us busy and our focus is not on Him. Once we become a Christian, our home is no longer here on earth. Rather, our home is waiting for us in heaven. We are here to worship and serve our Lord and Savior while we are here. We are to reach out to others so that they will know our joy and our hope.
Just like it says in the Psalm above, we need to ask God to “restore” our joy that we had at the moment we were saved. We need to carry that joy with us throughout our short lives here on earth.
What will you do today to remember and restore your joy in the Lord?