Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. (Psa 51:12-13)
And sinners with return to You!
We are a mechanistic people—we love The Machine! Give us something outside of us that we can work on. We love solutionism—there must be a learnable-fix to every problem! Give me a book to read with tricks and tweaks.
The “Faith and Spirituality” Section of the bookstore can seem too similar to the “Self-Help” Section. “How To …Evangelize ‘the Lost.’ …Save Your Neighbors. …Win Souls. …Lead Anyone to Christ. …Fill Your Church with Baptisms. …Fix Your Teenager. …Fix Your Spouse. …Fix Your Coworker. …Fix Your Community. ...Fix Your Church. …Fix Your Nation.”
Psalm 51:12-13 describes a "how-to" that's applicable for nearly all situations. But it isn't mechanistic-solutionism; instead it is deeply personal and prayerful.
Be happy.
First, be happy! No, not just a greasy smile and dead-eyes. “OF COURSE I LOVE JESUS HE’S THE GREATEST AND YOU NEED HIM CAN I QUICK BORROW A XANAX!”
No, it has to be real happiness. Unfakeable.
You have to feel blessed. You have to feel God’s love. Something from God’s heart has to leap into your heart.
There! That smile. Good.
Be willing.
Second, be willing. There’s an old saw: “God prefers availability over ability.”
People who get on their knees and say, “Okay, God, okay. I’m willing.”
BOOM! Those are the people He uses.
We’d rather be better prepared, better read, better skilled, with more experience. But God seems to think that He is all we need. And therefore our availability is all He needs.
That’s it. Greatest. How-To. Ever!
Because when we are delighted with God’s salvation and we are willing to let God use us, then He will put us to work. We will get to work. “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways…”
And not only will we work, but God will work in us. God will work! “Sinners will return to You!” I don’t know if that’s a promise or a description. Either way it’s a fact. Gospel-happied people in God’s hands are real head-turners. Hope-givers. Happy-spreaders.
How do you feel about your salvation? Joyful? How do you feel about God using you? Willing?
He might not “return” the “sinners” we’re praying for, but sinners will return to God.
And when some sinners return to Jesus, other sinners tend to notice.
Maybe the sinners we’re praying for will return to Jesus after the sinners we’re avoiding return to Jesus. It doesn’t say, “Here is The Mechanism that will Solutionize all your Wish-Demands.” But it promises that sinners will return to Jesus.
(That is SO fun to say! “Sinners will return to Jesus. Sinners will return to Jesus. Sinners will return to Jesus.”) [+This beautiful 10m story of grace (some bad language fyi)]
Sinners will return to Jesus.
Let’s pray so. And let’s get so happy and be so willing that God will work. (Hey, if we're happy in Him and willing to serve Him, that means He is working!)
He’s working already, isn’t He? Let’s join Him.
Let’s cultivate a relationship with the Word that results in sincere gratitude to God for Jesus.
And let’s regularly present ourselves to God for His use.
And then let’s get ready to receive some returning-sinners!
[TLDR: God uses happy, willing, saints to boomerang sinners back to Jesus.]
Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash
