Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. NKJV
King David had it all. He was the king of Israel. He was a husband. He was a father. He had a family. He had a beautiful home. But there was something missing. Here in Psalm 51, David lost his joy. This psalm was written just after Nathan the prophet confronted David about his sins. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and even sent her husband, Uriah, to the front lines of a battle and ordered his general to leave him there to die… and he did.
Why did David lose his joy? There was something in the way… in this case, it was sin. In verses 1–4, David owns his sin fully and gives no excuses. Instead, David appeals to God’s mercy. In verse 10, David asks for more than forgiveness; he wants a clean heart and a renewed spirit. In other words, there was something in the way that was blocking David from experiencing “the joy of the Lord.” If he could remove the blockage, then God’s joy would begin to flow.
The Hebrew word for restore is “shuv,” which means “to be restored through return” or “to be brought back to an original place or state.” So in verse 12, when David prays, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,” he is not asking for something new. Instead, he is saying, “Bring me back to where I once was with You.” Restoration happens when a turning of direction occurs, not just a change of feelings.
I have been a pastor for over 30 years, and I have seen many lose the joy of the Lord. Many go to church, participate in ministry, and even give; yet they have lost something… and that something is a passionate love for Jesus Christ and the joy of the Lord. When David prays, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Psalm 51:12), he’s not talking about hype or emotion. He’s talking about the deep, settled joy that flows out of what salvation actually gives us. Salvation brings forgiveness, peace with God, God’s presence within us, a new identity, freedom from bondage, purpose, calling, and eternal life, to name a few. When we “SHUV” (the Hebrew word for restore) away the blockage in our lives and return to God with our whole heart, we will experience a restoration of the joy of the Lord.
Do you have a blockage in your life? Is there something that is holding you back from fully returning to God? Maybe it is time to “SHUV” away what is in the way. I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Many of God’s people are experiencing challenging things, but these challenges are not to harm them, but to bring them back to the joy of their salvation.”
2026 will be a year of “SHUV,” and many will experience a renewed heart and a fullness of joy and will see a restoration of relationship, things lost, and breakthrough.
1. Joy from Forgiveness
Psalm 32:1–2
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
Joy flows from guilt being removed.
2. Joy from God’s Presence
Psalm 16:11
“You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Salvation restores access to God’s presence.
3. Joy from Peace with God
Romans 5:1–2
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Peace produces rejoicing.
4. Joy from the Holy Spirit
Romans 14:17
“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Joy is an inside work of salvation.
5. Joy from New Identity
Luke 10:20
“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Joy comes from belonging, not performance.
6. Joy from Freedom
John 8:36
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
Freedom produces deep, lasting joy.
7. Joy from Restoration
Isaiah 61:3
“To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…”
Salvation replaces heaviness with joy.
8. Joy from Hope
Romans 15:13
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Hope fuels joy.
9. Joy that Remains
John 15:11
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Salvation joy is meant to stay.
10. Joy that Overcomes Trials
1 Peter 1:8–9
“Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”
Salvation joy is deeper than circumstances.
Devotional Questions
- What part of your salvation brings you the deepest joy right now—and where has that joy grown dim or been lost along the way?
- Are you living more aware of what God has forgiven you from, or more focused on what you are still struggling with—and how is that affecting your joy?
- If God were to “restore the joy of His salvation” in your life today, what would change in the way you think, worship, or trust Him?
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