Restore to Me the Joy of Your Salvation

Restore to Me the Joy of Your Salvation

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

— Psalm 51:10–12

When I was first saved, I was beyond excited. My love for Jesus was brand new and overflowing. I couldn’t stop talking about Him. I wanted everyone to know Him the way I did—to experience the same joy, freedom, and transformation that had completely changed my life.

Sadly, that excitement irritated my family. They thought I was being ridiculous, over-the-top, and a little too intense. They wanted nothing to do with my new faith. Yet, in my new church family, I was received very differently. I was told many times that my joy was refreshing—that I was a “breath of fresh air.” More than once, someone gently said, “Enjoy this honeymoon phase. It’s special.”

That puzzled me. I remember thinking, “Why wouldn’t everyone feel this way? How could you not be completely in love with Jesus and want to tell the whole world about Him?”

That was more than thirty years ago. I am still in love with Jesus. I still want others to know Him. But now, with time, experience, and many seasons behind me, I understand why those early believers said what they did.

When Joy Fades and Life Happens

The reality is that the once-exuberant joy we feel at the beginning of our walk with Christ can diminish over time. Not because God changes—but because life happens.

There are ups and downs. Hills and valleys. Tears and laughter. Seasons of abundance and seasons of pain. Responsibilities pile up. Heartbreak comes. Prayers seem unanswered. Loss, disappointment, fatigue, and discouragement slowly wear on us. And before we realize it, the fire that once burned so brightly feels dimmer.

Scripture is incredibly honest about this reality. The Bible does not hide the fact that God’s people experience seasons of spiritual dryness, apathy, distance, and longing. Faithful men and women—prophets, kings, and psalmists—openly poured out these feelings before the Lord.

David cried out:

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

— Psalm 63:1

That is not the prayer of someone who doesn’t love God. That is the prayer of someone who *deeply* loves Him and feels the ache of His absence.

How Long, O Lord?

Many times in life, we feel as though God has forgotten us—and that perceived distance produces dryness and a loss of joy. David’s words in Psalm 13 echo the honest cry of so many believers:

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?”

These are real emotions. Real struggles. And the truth is, ‘every’ Christian experiences them at some point.

Spiritual dryness does **not** mean you are failing God. Often, it means you are honest enough to notice your need for Him. It means you remember what closeness felt like—and you want it again.

God is not offended by prayers that say, “I feel empty.” He invites them.

The Way Back to Joy

So how do we return to closeness? How do we experience the joy of our salvation again?

We return the same way we began.

We open His Word.

We cling to His promises.

We draw near—trusting that He has not moved, forgotten us, or abandoned us.

God’s presence has never left us, even when our awareness of it has faded. The answer is not striving harder, but humbling ourselves and asking Him to revive our hearts.

Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel beautifully illustrates this truth. She was overwhelmed with grief, discouraged, and full of sorrow because her womb was closed. She wept bitterly before the Lord, pouring out her heart in desperation. But something remarkable happened after she prayed.

Scripture tells us that after Eli encouraged her, she went home ‘a different woman’. Her countenance changed. The mourning lifted. The heaviness gave way to hope—before she ever conceived.

Prayer restored her joy ‘before’ her circumstances changed.

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

— Isaiah 12:3

“Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

— Psalm 30:5

“The joy of the LORD is your strength.”

—Nehemiah 8:10

“Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”

—Psalm 85:6

Joy is not something we manufacture. It is something God restores.

Joy Is Found in His Presence

David reminds us where true joy is found:

“You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

— Psalm 16:11

Joy returns when we return to Him.

James urges believers to resist complacency and draw near with humility:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

—James 4:7–10

There is something powerful about repentance, surrender, and honesty before God. When we lay down pride, distractions, and self-sufficiency, He meets us there—again and again.

Picking Up Our Sword

Seasons of dryness and spiritual depression come to us all. But we are not left defenseless. We have the greatest weapon available to us: **the Word of God**.

When joy fades, we pick up our sword.

When faith feels weak, we remember His truth.

When our hearts feel distant, we ask Him to renew us.

He promises to meet us. He promises to revive us. He promises to restore our joy.

And so we pray, like David:

Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a right spirit within me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.

And then we worship—sometimes through tears, sometimes through pain, sometimes through confusion and chaos, always trusting, always surrendering:

I love You, Lord, And I lift my voice, To worship You, Oh my soul, rejoice!, Take joy, my King, In what You hear, May it be a sweet, sweet sound, In Your ear.