Joy is withered away from the children of men

In a conversation I was having with the Lord this morning, I was remarking how easily I seem to lose my joy. And He reminded me of this verse from Joel 1:12. The party lifestyle of many, would seem to deny the truth of this, but I know well from my own life, the reality of the proverb “Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of festivity may be grief” (Proverbs 14:13).

We were talking yesterday, essentially about guarding the heart from offence, and certainly offence is a joy killer. But there is something infectious about the frenzy which hides the underlying desperation of a culture hell bent on going its own way. And it is easy to get sucked in to the denial of those who are reaping what they are sowing, but who are far from ready to admit, let alone deal with, the consequences of poor choices made. The Psalmist, at first seeing only the outward appearance, cries out “Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain.” And he is unable to understand “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end” (Psalm 73:13, 16, 17). How important it is, to come back again and again into His presence, and to live in the perspective of eternity!

And in thinking on these things this morning, the Lord is reminding me again of the importance of looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that joy that was set before Him, endured the cross despising the shame (Hebrews 12:2). And once again the He is reminding me that pain is a barrier, the other side of which is joy. And as I push through this barrier by continuing to choose to trust Him, and by refusing to be weary in well doing, I sense the joy rising me again.

Father, it has taken a long time for me to come to the place where I can substantially dwell in Your presence. And I want to pray for those this morning, who are struggling to let go of the things that hinder coming into Your sanctuary (presence), thus killing their joy. Thank You Lord that it’s not all up to us, and that You are far more interested in bringing us into this place than we could ever be! Thank You Lord for Your abundant grace and mercy and joy in Jesus Name Amen