Sin Robs Us of Our Joy

Last week we talked about joy being found in the presence of the Lord. If we want to be in fellowship with our God it is imperative to consider what can separate us from Him. There is only one thing that causes a wall of separation between us and Him – sin. The wise king Solomon – writing in his late years reflecting on his own life – says, “Truly, this only I have found; that God made man upright. But they have sought out many schemes,” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).

Sin blinds our spiritual eyes and thus we are in darkness. Therefore it renders us handicap because we are not in a position to see things of the kingdom of God. We are in fact not partakers of the kingdom of God. We have nothing to do with the kingdom of heaven. We belong to the world.

If we do not belong to the kingdom of God it only means that we belong to the kingdom of the devil, who is the god of this world. Darkness rules in this kingdom. In darkness you cannot see where you are going and you are bound to trip over now and then because you cannot see where you are going.

It marvels me when I hear people who are obviously still living in the world claiming to be worshipping God in their own way. It is common for people to remember to pray to God when they encounter challenges in life and hope that He will hear their prayers.

For a long time in my life I was also caught up in this web. With a very strong Christian background I had the idea that I can pray and God will hear me. Before I surrendered my life to Christ I went through a stage when I desired to be in fellowship with God. I bought my first Bible (I only owned a Bible as a textbook in high school). I spent time trying to pray and read the Bible even though I had not repented from my sins.

I was only fooling myself. God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. In fact, when we are still living in sin we are alienated from God. This means that we are foreigners in His kingdom. There is no communication between us and the things of the Kingdom of God. Trying to talk to God as a sinner is more like trying to speak English to a Portuguese speaking person. He does not understand your language and you do not understand his language. A sinner cannot comprehend the spiritual things because Jesus says, “…the words that I speak to you  are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

The sad news is that sin leads to death. First and foremost we need to understand that we were all created by God. The devil has never created anything. However he uses God’s creation as instruments of his wickedness. He makes one a slave for sin. He does not care what impact it makes on the person he is using. He is not interested in his or her wellbeing. Instead he thrives on destruction.

However, this the good news; Jesus has come to give us abundant life (John 10:10). He has come to usher us into the presence of God where there is everlasting joy. He has come to help us overcome a life of sin, which robs us of our joy.  In Him there is forgiveness of sins. Believe in Jesus and be saved!