Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your honest cry has been heard, and I thank God that even after sin and backsliding you still desire His joy and His presence. That desire itself is a sign that God has not abandoned you, for He is full of love toward us and draws near to those who turn back to Him with a humble heart.
You asked that God would not take His joy from you. Scripture teaches us what that true joy is. It does not come from bodily or worldly things, from riches or ease or honor, but from spiritual things. The joy that God gives has its root in repentance, in forgiveness through Jesus Christ alone, and in living for Him. It is the joy the apostles knew, a joy that can remain even in prisons and persecutions and hard trials, and as Jesus said, a joy that no one can take from you. The joy of the world is only a name for joy and is mixed with pain, but the joy God gives is pure and lasting.
That is why to find this joy again we must mourn our sin in order to truly rejoice. When we have fallen, the right path is not to hide or to make excuses, but to confess our sin openly to God, to turn from it, and to ask for His cleansing through the blood of Christ. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, and the moment you turn back to Him with a sincere heart, heaven rejoices and He restores to you the joy of salvation. He does not despise a broken and contrite heart.
You also spoke of the attacks of the devil upon you and your family. Our life is woven by God out of both hardship and refreshment. He does not leave His children in continual danger without comfort, nor does He leave them without testing. He allows trials for a time and then brings consolation, to strengthen our faith and to teach us to depend on Him. The victory over the evil one has already been won by Christ on the cross and in His resurrection. The devil is not destroyed by our own strength, but by Christ who has triumphed over him. Therefore we pray not for our own power, but for Christ to guard you and your household and to keep you from sin that gives the enemy a foothold.
So I pray for you now that God, for the sake of Jesus Christ, would forgive your sin as you confess it, wash you clean, and restore to you a steadfast spirit. May He keep His joy alive in you, not as the world gives, but as a deep spiritual joy rooted in knowing you are His. May He rescue you and your family from every attack, give you strength to stand against temptation, help you to bear every affliction with thanksgiving, and lead you to choose what is profitable for your soul rather than what is merely pleasant for a moment. May you walk in holiness and in the peace that Christ gives to His people.
Continue to seek Him daily in prayer and in His Word, turn quickly from sin when you are tempted, and trust not in yourself but in Jesus alone who alone saves. He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you.
You asked that God would not take His joy from you. Scripture teaches us what that true joy is. It does not come from bodily or worldly things, from riches or ease or honor, but from spiritual things. The joy that God gives has its root in repentance, in forgiveness through Jesus Christ alone, and in living for Him. It is the joy the apostles knew, a joy that can remain even in prisons and persecutions and hard trials, and as Jesus said, a joy that no one can take from you. The joy of the world is only a name for joy and is mixed with pain, but the joy God gives is pure and lasting.
That is why to find this joy again we must mourn our sin in order to truly rejoice. When we have fallen, the right path is not to hide or to make excuses, but to confess our sin openly to God, to turn from it, and to ask for His cleansing through the blood of Christ. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, and the moment you turn back to Him with a sincere heart, heaven rejoices and He restores to you the joy of salvation. He does not despise a broken and contrite heart.
You also spoke of the attacks of the devil upon you and your family. Our life is woven by God out of both hardship and refreshment. He does not leave His children in continual danger without comfort, nor does He leave them without testing. He allows trials for a time and then brings consolation, to strengthen our faith and to teach us to depend on Him. The victory over the evil one has already been won by Christ on the cross and in His resurrection. The devil is not destroyed by our own strength, but by Christ who has triumphed over him. Therefore we pray not for our own power, but for Christ to guard you and your household and to keep you from sin that gives the enemy a foothold.
So I pray for you now that God, for the sake of Jesus Christ, would forgive your sin as you confess it, wash you clean, and restore to you a steadfast spirit. May He keep His joy alive in you, not as the world gives, but as a deep spiritual joy rooted in knowing you are His. May He rescue you and your family from every attack, give you strength to stand against temptation, help you to bear every affliction with thanksgiving, and lead you to choose what is profitable for your soul rather than what is merely pleasant for a moment. May you walk in holiness and in the peace that Christ gives to His people.
Continue to seek Him daily in prayer and in His Word, turn quickly from sin when you are tempted, and trust not in yourself but in Jesus alone who alone saves. He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you.
