Living Joy

Have you ever made a decision you’d like to change? Ever said something you wish you could take back? Are the consequences of bad choices wearing you down? Do you yearn to be filled with pure joy each day, waking each morning with boundless enthusiasm?

Well life doesn’t offer “do-overs”. Once the proverbial trigger is pulled, you can’t put the bullet back in the gun. The truth is, even those of us who follow the Lord make mistakes, have regrets, and there are consequences. But, we can all take advantage of two of God’s greatest gifts: His transcendent peace and joy.

If you believe Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then you are free to live each day filled with His joy and peace. You can be freed from the daily torment of regret, quilt, guilt, and condemnation. You can do this by taking God at His word, as His word says you are forgiven and set free – right now. The Lord has opened the gate to our jail cell. Why are we remaining in the cell of condemnation, disqualification, worry, regret, fear, doubt, and despair?

King David understood the depth of the Lord’s mercy and the Lord’s desire for peace and joy to guard His children’s hearts.  King David refused to be tormented by his numerous personal failures. He believed the Lord, and eagerly embraced the Lord’s offer of mercy, peace, and joy.

Think about it. King David’s sins were numerous. He had multiple wives and concubines. He also appears to have been an unengaged parent to most of the children he fathered through these women. He slept with his loyal friend’s wife while the friend was out serving the country on the battlefield. When the woman, Bathsheba, became pregnant, David went to great lengths to cover it up. He became so desperate to protect his public persona as a godly king that he ultimately arranged for his friend to be abandoned and killed on the battlefield. He then had the audacity to publicly announce he would marry the pregnant widow of his fall friend, raising the unborn child as his own.  Amazingly, David did all these things while privately and publicly proclaiming his faith in the Lord!

Yes, the man described by the Lord “as a man after My own heart” had been breaking God’s commandments quicker than a high school parking lot clears out on the last day of school. But, it was through David’s failures that we discover God’s plan for His joy and peace each day.

After being confronted with his sinful behavior, David wrote a psalm as a record for believers to learn how to overcome the mistakes of the past, rather than simply waiting for heavenly bliss. In doing so, we can clearly see God’s heart and desire for all of His children.

The King pleads in Psalm 51:1-2,

 “Have mercy on me, O’Lord, grant me mercy, based upon Your great compassion….Grant me mercy, because of Your loyal love…Scrub away my wrongdoing…Cleanse me of my sin…”

David is completely aware of his wrong actions. He understands his sins represent rebellion against the Lord, the One who had taken him from the obscurity of a shepherd’s son, to giant killer, to military greatness, to King of His chosen people.

David knew he had acted in a treasonous way towards the Lord. But David also knew the Lord’s empathy and willingness to act. David knew that while he could never forget what he had done, the Lord, out of His unlimited love and mercy, was willing to never remember.

This has always been God’s character. David recalls that even as a child he was prone to do what was wrong in the Lord’s sight. But this was not what the Lord wanted for David or any of His children – for the Lord desires His children to have integrity in their inner man and be protected by godly wisdom.

The King screams in Psalm 51:8 “Give me the ecstatic joy of being forgiven!” and in 51:14 “Let me again experience the joy of Your deliverance! Sustain me by giving me a desire to obey! Rescue me from the guilt of murder!”

David knew there was nothing he could do for God to make up for what he had done. The Lord didn’t want David’s good deeds; He desired from David (and us today) a humble heart that turns away from what is wrong and yearns for something higher – which is His wisdom and joy.

David’s sin with Bathsheba, his biggest failure, was also a major turning point in his life. It was when he repented and turned to what is higher that he received the ecstatic joy that comes from God’s forgiveness. David would not allow his failures to dictate his future; instead he allowed God’s joy, peace, and mercy to direct his path.

The remainder of David’s life is an intimate look into God’s character and what He makes available to all who take Him at His word – the ecstatic joy of forgiveness for those walking humbly with the Lord. It is true that David would have to deal with the earthly consequences of his sins, but he also witnessed the Lord using his greatest failures to teach “rebels” God’s merciful ways. The result? Many who would turn to the Lord.

The Lord truly made all things new in David’s life as he dealt with the consequences of his past. Even the relationship with Bathsheba, with its roots buried in sin, was recreated in the Lord’s glory. From this point forward, the scriptures never mention any other wife but Bathsheba. The Lord even blessed their marriage with another child, Solomon, chosen by the Lord to build His temple, write two books of the Bible, to build the nation of Israel to its earthly pinnacle, and to even be part of the world’s Savior, Jesus the Messiah’s, earthly bloodline!

Experiencing the ecstatic joy of salvation, the peace that transcends all understanding and circumstances is God’s desire for His children. We must believe the Lord’s word and actions. There are no failures, no mistakes, no regrets that God cannot turn into marvelous successes – today, tomorrow, and for eternity. That’s reason for living joy!