#21 Joy of HIS Salvation

Umm… think I’ve been misquoting the Bible. Me: [O God,] Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Bible: [O God,] Restore to me the joy of your salvation (Psalm 51). BIG difference.

Psalm 51:10 - 12
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
1Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

In my defense, I was just taking possession of what’s been given to me. I’ve been saved! The work of salvation, however, belongs to Jesus. Which, obviously, is best, better, bestest.

My curiosity is peaked now. Why did David consider God’s salvation a joy? His use of joy wasn’t just a description… ‘restore to me joyful salvation.’ It’s more specific. David is panting for the joy of the Lord to return. How will it return? When the Lord saves him.

In Psalm 51, David was torn apart from adultery, deception, and conspiracy of murder. These actions were not typical of David, far opposites actually. Consider the contrast between the David we see here to the David that is a praising poet, protective shepherd, integrity-filled warrior. He was lost and in a wretched state because of sin.

I find David pretty relatable. I‘ve been in that terrible place where I tried to save myself and only made a bigger mess. I was unrecognizable and hope was being shut out by my decisions. Here are three things that I’ve seen and tasted about the joy of God’s *salvation.

• The joy of salvation rescues us — God faithfully, without fail, reaches down with his everlasting arms and pulls us out of the mess. He sees us and knows exactly how to do it. He relieves us from the wages of sin. Thank you, Jesus!

• The joy of salvation places us on firm ground — God’s salvation doesn’t just rescue us. He settles us in a better place. In that place, we can heal and begin to see a hope and a future.

• The joy of salvation builds — In the place God settles us, we build again. Restoration. He doesn’t just rescue us and settle us. He’s an investor. His intentions are for us to flourish. And with the same faithfulness he snatched us out of the mess with, he rebuilds us.

How would you describe the joy of God’s salvation? What has it looked like in your life?

*when I say salvation, I’m including the moment we confess Jesus as Lord of our lives AND the times we get lost in our day to day lives. His salvation work is always at work in a different ways.