Restore To Me The Joy Of Your Salvation: I Don’t Know And I Don’t Care
Restore to Me the Joy of Your Salvation:
I Don’t Know and I Don’t Care
How can we deal with the waning, if not an occasional loss, of our Christian joy? It is devastating when we can no longer find peace or celebrate what once was the greatest joy of our lives!
In Psalm 51, David lost his joy due to un-repented sin (Well, There’s Your Problem); the solution was repentance, ministry, and worship.
Elijah’s Mount Carmel Blues revealed three principles that can help us when we hit lows following spiritual highs: (1) self care; (2) spiritual grounding in the character and work of God; and (3) a refocused vision of the future.
Paul’s warning in Galatians of a Return to Slavery has a modern analog, i.e., Christian freedom vs. religious legalism, perfectionism, and traditionalism. These three threaten our joy. Paul encourages us to 1) stand firm in our freedom; 2) trust Jesus alone for our righteousness, and 3) keep in step with the Holy Spirit to avoid the sinful nature.
In Revelation 2, Jesus tells the church in Ephesus they had “forsaken your first love” (You Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’). This describes a church that was known for their good works and perseverance. In all their hard work, religious polemic, and righteous endurance, they had lost the one thing that really mattered, love. Jesus explains what they had to do: 1) Remember what it was like when their love was new; 2) Change the dynamics of their behavior; and 3) Do the things they did at first.
Sunday, we will look at another church Jesus addressed in Revelation.
The church at Laodicea was described as “lukewarm– neither hot nor cold.” Their first problem was apathy. On a love/hate continuum of their relationship with God, their response was “meh.” Again, using the analogy of marriage, this is the death-knell—you just don’t care anymore. It’s easy to see how this would lead to a joyless faith.
Their second problem was ignorance. Or perhaps, more accurately expressed, self-delusion. In their material prosperity, they believed they were in need of nothing or no one. Perhaps, this is the root cause of their apathy toward God.
Jesus has some very harsh things to say to them about their condition.
You might legitimately ask why those who were so apathetic would care about having no Christian joy. Maybe the issue was that, in their ignorance, they thought their wealth brought them joy. Unfortunately, such dependence upon circumstances will eventually lead to the wretchedness Jesus described.
I’ll say more in my lesson, Joey