"Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey You." (NLT)
Lately, the pressures of this world have been weighing me down a lot more than I expected. I have been "saved" since I was just a little girl, but lately I haven't really felt safe at all. I have learned so much these past few years and can honestly say that I have seen God at work. But why does it seem like my relationship with God has recently hit a road block, and hit it hard. I have been seeking God's guidance and His heart more than I have in a while, but I can't seem to hear His voice. Or I just won't.
How often do we seek God in a situation then try to manipulate His response to fit our desires. I know I'm guilty of that to the nth degree.
I came across Psalm 51 in my quiet desperation to draw near to God through His word recently. I wear a ring with "Ps. 51:10" on it. But just a few short verses down speaks a verse of complete surrender as King David sought to cry out to the same Almighty God that I desire to be with. King David had some hardships of his own before writing this Psalm. So in the midst of our struggles, we can be reassured that even powerful kings need to bow in surrender to their All-Powerful Creator. How humbling is that?!
King David, in His low-point, recognizes the source of joy and the only way to escape the "funk" he is in. Surrender. Whether we have been a follower of Christ for 50 years or 5 minutes, we follow a God who is outside the limits of time. A God who does not change. And a God who offers abundant joy for all eternity. So, even in our lowest moments we can find as much joy in our Savior as we did when we first accepted that we can be saved. Let us not allow the story of the cross become a watered down Sunday School lesson that we here every year at Easter. May we all live every moment of every day rejoicing that we are alive in Christ and through surrender of our own will and full obedience of His we can experience full and complete joy for all eternity.
Our God is greater than our own minds, plans, and desires can fathom. That in itself should lead us to surrender, but that isn't even the whole story!
