Skip to main content

Lack of Joy

Here is an answer to a question posted on my comments for the post "Joy!"

Q: If sin has been confessed and forsaken, and joy is still not present (more of a dry, dusty, maybe-lost-in-the-wilderness-for-40-years kind of life, actually), what then?....

A: There are several possibilities for the dry, dusty, long life.

  1. You have confessed and forsaken the big sins but not all of the little ones that set you up for the big ones. "Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless,innocent of great transgression." (Psalm 19:13)
  2. You do not believe that God has forgiven you. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
  3. You are not obeying Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" That is a command. Disobeying it is sin. Confess and forsake the sin of not rejoicing.
  4. You do not think it is right to rejoice in forgiveness after such a sin.
  5. You believe you have to do some sort of penance for God to know that you really mean your confession.
  6. "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (2 Corinthians 7:10) There are two types of sorrow, Godly and worldly. There is no virtue in worldly sorrow. It is remorse. It leads to death. Godly sorrow leads to repentance which leads to salvation and leaves no regret. If you still have regret, then you did not repent. You did not repent because your sorrow was not Godly, it was worldly. If you still have remorse then you were not forgiven. If you were forgiven there would be no regret.
  7. There is a possibility that you are not saved. God has promised everlasting joy: "The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." (Isaiah 51:11) He has commanded joy now: "Be joyful always." (1 Thessalonians 5:16) The fruit of the Spirit is joy: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace ..." (Galatians 5:22)

Whatever the reason, you are under some sort of chastening. "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11) That is the only Biblical reason for no joy. Find out what it is and confess it. You will not find it by introspection. That is a downer. Come into God's presence! Have Him search. Don't you search.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Welcome to the blogosphere! And your right, apart from Christ we can't know real joy, with Him we can't know the real absence of it.

Happy Blogging.

Sola Deo Gloria,

David
12:41 PM
Mike Spreng said…
We can also find joy in that very same chapter (Hebrews 12)by "knowing" that you are disciplined. The mere fact that we are disciplined proves that we are not bastards (I love the KJV). It's a much more reliable experience than the altar call!

Mike Spreng
Yuma Reformed
5:51 PM
Anonymous said…
I really like your blog!
You are now my newest bookmark to read in the morning! Keep up the great work, and may God Bless you and yours.
Merry Christmas!

Tanis
6:41 PM
Gordan said…
Pastor Wilson,

I praise God for your entry in the blog world. And for this particular post. I read it this morning and the difference between regret and repentance has been haunting me all day.

By the way, I learned from Doug's blog recently that you are the author of the little book, "Principles of War." A friend gave it to me when I lived in Idaho in the early nineties, and to this day I count it as one of the treasures of my library. You might consider going through those principles again on this blog. Good stuff!
4:14 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Old

This is a post for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100. Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 in October. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of my physical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me. All of us will have to make some adjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower to stay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can live independently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need to have visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if you don’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The more fellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it, but only if friends and relatives can see you often. In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’t do much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get me up, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a
5 comments
Read more

Constant Victory

I came across the following poem (prayer) and devotional in Amy Carmichael's book Edges of His Ways :   Before the winds that blow do cease, Teach me to dwell within thy calm; Before the pain has passed in peace, Give me, my God, to sing a psalm. Let me not lose the chance to prove The fulness of enabling love. O Love of God, do this for me; Maintain a constant victory.   Before I leave the desert land For meadows of immortal flowers, Lead me where streams at thy command Flow by the borders of the hours, That when the thirsty come I may Show them the fountains in the way. O love of God, do this for me; Maintain a constant victory.   "This prayer was written for the ill, and for the tired. It is so easy to fail when not feeling fit. As I thought of them, I also remembered those who, thank God, are not ill and yet can be hard-pressed. Sometimes in the midst of the rush of things, it seems impossible to be victorious, always to be peaceful,
Post a Comment
Read more