Joy revisited

Create a pure heart in me, 0 God,
and put a new and loyal spirit in me.
Do not banish me from your presence;
do not take your holy spirit away from me.
Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you. (verses 10-12)

Read Psalm 51: 1-12

A marriage counsellor was seeing a couple whose marriage was in big trouble. The couple were argumentative and hostile, talking about divorce. After listening to their tirades for some time, the counsellor said to them, ‘How on earth did you two ever get together in the first place? What attracted you to each other back then?’

The couple blinked and looked at each other. Then, slowly, they began to talk about those early days when their love for each other was fresh and new. After a while they smiled and even began to laugh at some of their memories. Some time after that, they were surprised to discover that the core of their initial love was still there, but covered up. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope that, by reclaiming and building on that core, their marriage could be healed and could possibly even grow.

‘Give me again the joy …’ As happened with that couple, our relationship with God sometimes loses its glow. And, as in their case, one of the most helpful things we might do is to remember what it is that moved God to love us in the first place; to recall his commitment to us in Jesus; to reclaim his blessings in our lives; to receive again the joy…

When the joy of my relationship with you dims, Lord Jesus, renew me by the power of your love. Amen.

by Bob Kempe, in ‘God’s promises for each Day’

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