Asking For Joy
One of the consequences of sinning is a loss of joy. This is something most people don’t believe or realise. They believe that sin is pleasure! And that God wants to block our pleasure by forcing us not to sin!
But anybody who has lived a life of sin realizes at some point that the pleasure of sin is a cheap substitute for the joy of salvation. When sin gets its claws in us, we quickly find out that the short-term pleasure it offers is always fleeting. And it takes away a deep-seated joy that God brings when we walk in close fellowship with him.
Longing for Joy: Choosing God's Joy over Fleeting Pleasures
David found this out, when he messed around with Bathsheba. That was probably a pleasurable moment for him, and possibly for her too (although some believe David may have raped her, but nobody can be sure). The pleasure of that moment for him was certainly fleeting. And once it was over, desperation and despair kicked in. We know that he then plotted to have her husband killed. Bathsheba had his child and the child died. And the whole episode made him quite depressed and broken.
Listen to some of the words he speaks in this Psalm. Verse 8: “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” And verse 12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
David is longing for the joy he used to know when he was close to God.
This is a lesson for us. We live in a world where short-term pleasure trumps long-term joy. We are so tempted by quick moments of pleasure that many of us don’t even know what long-term joy God can bring when we choose His ways over the sinful temptations that come our way.
Choosing Depth Over Instant Gratification: Pursuing True Joy
This is particularly true of things like lust and pornography, or fast-food. But it is also true of things like our phones. We are hooked on our phones, longing for the next little video or little picture that will give us an instant of gratification and we rarely take the time for deep communion with God or others.
I think David’s prayer here, for the joy of salvation to be restored, is something we can all pray today. We can all ask God to help us to pursue deep joy of a relationship with Him over the fleeting pleasures of sin.
How might our lives be different if we pursued deeper joy rather than shallow pleasure? I think we’d be pleasantly surprised if we tried it.
