Finding Joy in your Salvation
For the Christian who has been born-again, regenerated, and passed from death to life because of their placing their trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, joy always follows that miracle. But, as time goes by, and life starts to send storms, sometimes we tend to forget who is in control and that sanctification (the conforming of the believer into Christ’s likeness and holiness) can be a difficult process. God now sculpts us into the new creation He wants us to be. If anyone tells you that becoming a Christian makes things easier, they are either lying, or have not really read their Bible. Things will get harder, and sometimes it will be harder than the people you know who are not Christians. This is because once God saved you, you now have three enemies: (1) Satan, who you used to follow (whether you knew it or not); (2) the world, or world system which as at war with Christ; (3) your flesh. This can be found in Ephesians 2:2-3.
So, when these trials arise, it is easy to forget the promises of God. It is easy to fall back into our old ways, which I too am guilty of. Our minds tend to think of how our lives used to be before we were saved. We think that maybe if we go back to our old ways of how we once lived, it might help to bring back that joy we first had at conversion. We think that maybe drinking some more alcohol, smoking some weed, buying more clothes, or listening to our old music will help bring that joy back. I have done this myself, and it is usually when I’m depressed and going through a life trial. But if you have been a Christian for a while now, you know that these things never fulfill and that they only give temporary satisfaction. And if we go too far, sometimes we end up being enslaved again to these worldly pleasures. It reminds me of the Israelite’s when Moses took them out of slavery from Egypt, and then as years went by they started to complain and started to desire to go back to that enslavement in Egypt because it was all they knew. Walking through the dessert is similar to the Christian going through the sanctification process. It’s hard and exhausting, and sometimes we want to give up. So we tend to lose our focus on God and turn to other idols. But this is the lie of the devil. God is preparing us for something far greater, and we can’t enter the Promised Land (Heaven) until He thinks we are ready for it.
So, what do we do when we are in the desert? We trust God and know that His plan is better than our own plans. This is why I try to remind myself that I am now a saint and have been forgiven in Christ. When I focus on what God has done for me, it always brings a smile to my face and gives me peace in my heart because I know that where I am going is far better than this temporary place I live in now. That’s why James 1: 2-4 says,
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (English Standard Version). Knowing that we are forgiven in Christ is unlike any feeling in the world. When we focus on our salvation we are free, and not bonded to the chains of the world. To my Christian brothers and sisters who are going through the pain of life right now, let me encourage you to focus on your salvation, and to remember that this life is just temporary. But one day we will be with the King. Let us all look up to Him in praise and worship. Because what we have the world does not. Remember what Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid ( John 14:27).
