“Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.”
—Psalm 51:8-9
The philosophy of the world says, “If you want it, then just do it. If you desire it, then just go for it. Why not satisfy your passions with pleasure? After all, satisfaction of your desires is the only way to experience happiness.” Yes, satisfaction of our passions does bring pleasure, but it is only momentary. It is said of Moses in Hebrews 11:25 that he “chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” We also read in Scripture that David gave into his sinful desires, sought to satisfy his lust, and ended up a miserably sick man (Psalm 32). I am sure David enjoyed his sin at the time, yet afterward he faced the inevitable consequences of his sin, which was grief, shame, and heartache.
Sin provides temporary pleasure, but it steals lasting joy. Notice David’s prayer of repentance, “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.” After he sinned with Bathsheba, David lost the joy he experienced while he walked with God. The joy of the Lord had left his heart, and David desperately wanted God to restore that joy in His life. But notice the text does not say that David lost his salvation. That is impossible for a child of God. Scripture is clear concerning the permanency of salvation. John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” However, it is possible for the redeemed to lose the joy of their salvation when they choose to step off the straight and narrow path and indulge the lust of their flesh.
True joy comes from walking with God, obeying His commands, and following His path for your life. No circumstance, possession, pursuit, or person can give you joy as God can give. He is the source, provider, and facilitator of joy. In other words, you can only experience true joy in your life by walking with the Lord. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). David realized that God alone holds the key to a joyful life, and David had lost that joy through seeking pleasure for his sinful passions.
What about you? Do you have the joy of the Lord in your life? Joy does not mean being happy all the time, but joy does mean living content knowing that God is in control. Have you lost your joy? Seeking to indulge sinful desires brings temporary happiness but it always leaves a joyless soul. Seek joy in Christ. Look to Him for the satisfying, soul-filling joy that only a life lived for Him can bring. And when you sin by seeking to fulfill sinful desires, and your joy has disappeared, always remember that confession and repentance to the Lord will always yield the blessed fruit of restored joy in the Lord as seen in the life of David. “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry