"And these things we wrote to you that your joy may be full" 1 John 1:4 NKJV
In this passage, John encouraged his readers to have abundant joy in their walk with God. David Jeremiah, expounds 3 areas that could rob believers of this, life-giving joy:
DENY THE POWER OF SIN. (1:5-7) We often claim one thing by our words but are condemned by our lives. Walking in fellowship with Christ results in being continually cleansed from sin. And when we are cleansed from the guilt and stain of sin, we have fulness of joy in the Lord.
DENY THE PRESENCE OF SIN. (1:8-9) The cure for sinfulness is not denying our sin but relying on the faithfulness of God to forgive us on the basis of Christ's death on the cross. To confess our sin and remain in fellowship with God is the way to maintain the joy of our salvation.
DENY THE PRACTICE OF SIN. (1:10-2:2) The person who denies that he or she has, in fact, sinned is quick to label their actions as anything but sin. Unfortunately, to take such a stance costs both the joy of forgiveness and restoration with the Father.
The Jeremiah Bible by David Jeremiah
Therefore, if you lose your sense of joy in your Christian walk, and feel that you are unable to cope with what you are going through, it is good practice to examine these 3 statements. It may well be that you have committed one of these and this is why you feel joy-less. You can then re-connect with Jesus, who will forgive you if you ask Him to.
If we lose our joy because of our sin, we are then walking in darkness and, as Jesus is Light, He is not there with us. We need to move fast and get back on the road with Him. People, even today, confess that they have fellowship with Jesus and yet, walk in darkness - their lives do not match up with what they confess. To a degree, we all have to be careful of this. We are called to be children of the Light; so, let us be wary of slipping into the darkness.
We do need to realise that we are all susceptible to sin. We can therefore, easily fall back into our old ways if we are not alert. Sin is only around the corner and, where addictions are concerned, the devil can so easily trick us into this old part of our lives. To give an example, it would be quite foolish for a recovering alcoholic to spend time in a pub. If this is you, you may feel that you can overcome any temptation but why, put yourself through this? It makes no sense.
Jesus will forgive you if you fall back into your old ways; He's committed to do this. However, will you forgive yourself if you've fallen to sin? The main thing in life for believers is, to keep our eyes on Jesus; keep our joy and keep on the road He leads us along. Amen?
Copyright 2023 Grahame Howard.
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