Psalms 32:5, a beautiful verse which has the guideline for a joyful life! And the verse goes like this, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, “I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;” And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”

I Thes 5:16 says, “Be Joyful always”. This is one verse which is close to my heart. I often like to use this in my greetings to whomsoever I speak or write. Being joyful in life doesn’t happen always, there are always ups and down which hides joy from our life. When does man lose his joy? When something negative happens in his life! It might be anything like, lost your loved one, physical illness, stress and so on. But one thing we need to remember is that, we have a God who can turn our negatives into Positives. For in all situations we can bounce back to our Lord God, who is ready to fill our heart with great joy.

Here we go with the guidelines from Psalm 32:5, which take us to a life where we can say, “Joyful Always”. King David was highly favoured by God, and I believe this verse is one of the core reasons for God to have him highly favoured. This verse is proven record from the life of David on restoring the lost joy in life. I would like to highlight the five things that King David speaks on this verse – Acknowledge, Pour out, Confession, Forgiveness and Reflect.

Acknowledge: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee”. First lesson to be learnt is to acknowledge our shortcoming. This is one of the toughest things to perform before man and God. Many a time, we don’t acknowledge the fact that, we aren’t right in what we did or do! Our ego says whatever we do is right. This isn’t from the Lord! The prodigal son didn’t realise his action as ungodly until he was forced into a worst situation of his life. Our God is a merciful God, always ready to receive his kid with an outstretched arm but first He expects us to acknowledge our sinful deeds. David says, “I acknowledge my sin to God”. This is the first step towards a joyful Christian life. Let’s give up on our ego and say Lord,” I acknowledge my ways, are not according to your will”. This prayer makes God to open the flood gates of His mercy and grace.

Pour out: “mine iniquity have I not hid’. Just pour out your heart to God. There is nothing that can be hid from God. If you acknowledge your sin, then it’s time to pour out everything to God. There is no partial forgiveness in the sight of God. If we want the joy of God in our life, then we need to be ready to pour out all our sins before Him. What’s there on hiding the sin before our Heavenly Father? Just the effort of hiding sin will dry us out. It will never give 100% deliverance in life. Many a time, we think let us ask forgiveness on the sins that can be avoided easily first and then let’s think about the sins that are hard to leave! God never expects this attitude. Most of our Christian friends say, God still don’t love me, I don’t have peace in my heart. Reason, we haven’t poured out our heart yet to God in fullness. Partial surrender to God will lead nowhere. Turn back to God completely, God wants you.

Confess: “I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord”. It’s time to confess all our sins. David’s whole-hearted confession made him a man after God’s own heart. God knows, every man in flesh is prone to sin, but it’s at that point of confession of our sins that God rejoices over. He is a loving Father. His heart is moved by true confession. God is ready to hug and kiss us and welcome us into His kingdom, when we repent and confess our sins. Confess your sin with all your heart, soul and mind.

Forgiveness: “And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin”.God forgives all who confess to Him with a whole heart. This phase stamps our deliverance from sin.Here God acknowledges our acknowledgment of our shortcoming. God never forgives in instalment, but in fullness for the Heaven rejoices over this victory with great joy.

Reflect: “Selah”.Selah is a Hebrew word meaning “pause and think of that” or “stop and listen” or “think a moment”. Yes dear ones, it’s time to stop and think of the joy that enters into you when those sins are forgiven. There is an unimaginable joy that fills our heart. And after you stop and think of what the Lord has done for you, comes prayer and praise to Him for that forgiveness. Don’t just cry out to the Lord when things are not going well, but when the joy comes in; thank Him for His love and deliverance.

Dear ones in Christ rejoice in the Lord always by, again and again reflecting on the greatest gift of salvation which God has brought forth in your life. Share these guidelines with your friends and neighbours; long to see a joyful life in each other.

Be Joyful Always