December 7, 2020
“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”—Psalm 51:121
I want to take you back to your roots, back to the beginning, the days of the joy of your salvation. I want you to remember how good it was, how happy it made you to be simply Mine and simply in love with Me.
Do you feel that such joy and simplicity are impossible to recapture—that too much water has passed under the bridge, too much has happened, and times and things have changed? It is true that much has changed and you have grown and matured in your faith and faced many challenges along the way. But the basics of living for Me remain the same, and My promises for those who seek Me and My kingdom first are still as true as ever.
If you’re ready, precious one, to be renewed in the joy of your salvation, then trust Me. Just reach out your hand and walk with Me. Listen to the voice of My Word, and I’ll tell you what’s lacking, and how you can get back to the simple joys of life that always meant so much to you. I can’t promise that it will be easy, but I can promise that it will be worthwhile and you will not be disappointed.
It comes down to the essentials of putting My kingdom first in your life. I ask you to continue to come and follow Me, as a fisher of men, soft clay in My hands, and the one who found the pearl of great price and sold all that he had so that he could buy it.
Can you place every dream, earthly desire, relationship, personal belonging, and your marriage, children, family, and friends in My hands? Are you willing to be a servant of all? Will you let Me have first place in your heart, your life, your priorities, your finances, and your plans?
I love you and want the best for you. I know what will bring you peace of mind and joy of spirit. You’ve struggled long and hard to run the race and fight the good fight, and I call you to rest, to lay down all your burdens, and to taste and see My goodness. I will not fail in one of all My good promises to you.
Let Me restore your joy and your desire for My Word, and your will to love others and be a messenger of My salvation. Ask and you will receive. “I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”2
I’ve watched you day after day, week after week, year after year, and you have been faithful in continuing to fight the good fight of faith
Staying close to Me and striving to walk in My will for your life have brought you joy and a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. There have been times when you struggled with the challenges that came your way, and when you felt too much was being asked of you. But with time, you realized that as you cast all your cares on Me, it didn’t end up being too much for you, and the climb was not too steep. You placed your hand in Mine, even when you felt trepidation, and you walked on by faith.
Through the years, you’ve learned that it pays to trust Me. No matter how dark or puzzling the circumstances, even if it seemed you would lose something very dear to you in the process, you’ve learned that the surest way to preserve your greatest treasures in life is to entrust them to Me, along with your hopes and your future.
I’m proud of you, dear one, for though you’ve struggled and fallen many times throughout the years, you’ve risen again to greater strength, and with a keener sense of My presence. I don’t fault you for your struggles or the times when you balked at My will or tried to wiggle out from under the conviction of My Spirit, because each time you eventually came to a place of trust.
All the fulfillment, satisfaction, joy, supply, and growth that you experience on a day-to-day basis are gifts from My hand. I am the giver of all good gifts. I am the rewarder of all good deeds. I am the provider in both abundance and scarcity. If you could only see how I have been integrally involved in every aspect of your life and the blessings you’ve enjoyed, you would be in awe! I’ve never ceased to care for you, watch over you, and guard you each step of your way at every stage of your life.
Let Me fill you with My joy and peace. They flow into you as you sit quietly in My Presence, trusting Me in the depths of your being. These blessings are essential for nourishing your soul. The Joy of the Lord is your strength, so don’t neglect this delightful gift. It is for all times and all circumstances, though sometimes you have to search for it.
You also need My Peace at all times, and I bestow it on you freely as you trust in Me. Remember that I am the God of hope. The hope I offer is not wishful thinking. It is absolutely certain, even though it refers to things not yet fully realized. It is utterly secure because I Myself obtained it through My finished work on the cross.
This hope is the foundation of the Joy and Peace you find in Me. No matter how hard your life may be at this time, you have full assurance that endless delight awaits you in heaven, where I have prepared a place for you. As you ponder this glorious truth, you can enjoy hope that overflows by the Power of the Holy Spirit.3
There are oceans of love, compassion, tenderness, and understanding that you have yet to taste or glimpse, as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things I have prepared for those who love Me.4 If you could only get a glimpse into the world to come that awaits you, you would jump for joy! You would be beside yourself with amazement, feeling so unworthy, yet anticipating with unspeakable joy all that is to come.
In the meanwhile, I am calling you to nurture your relationship with Me and to draw ever closer. I know you have sought to love Me first and foremost in your life, and you’re serving Me in the ways I have called you the best you can. But the struggles and toil and cares of life have weighed you down over time, and I want to restore to you the fullness of the joy of your salvation.5
Although many years have passed since you gave your life to Me, you can still wake each morning with newness of life, glad to be alive and anticipating the day before. You can find a renewed desire for being My messenger to the lost, and continue to see My blessings manifested in your life. You can continue to discover the simplicity and freedom of not being bound to the things of this world, the fleeting riches of man, and the illusory appeal of materialism.
This is My personal invitation to you to make each day a new beginning, a fresh start—not through your own resolve or strength of character, but through humility, trust, and love for Me. Unburden yourself and lay it all at My feet, and claim, “Nothing in my hands I bring; only to Your cross I cling.” And My will for you is to place it all in My hands—anything and everything you hold dear—and trust Me to care for it all.
Originally published August 1999, unless otherwise indicated. Adapted and republished December 2020. Read by Simon Peterson. Music by John Listen.
1 NKJV.
2 John 15:11 NIV.
3 Sarah Young, Jesus Today (Thomas Nelson, 2012).
4 1 Corinthians 2:9.
5 Psalm 51:12.
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