Real Joy in TSA
Joy Joy Joy! There is Joy in the Salvation Army!
I
f I was being brutally honest I’d have to say that my experiences with the Salvation Army haven’t been particularly joyful of late. Interesting, exciting, rewarding, satisfying, hurtful, frustrating, exasperating, exhausting and disappointing maybe, but definitely not what I would describe as joyous. And I don’t think I’m Robinson Crusoe.
The really sad thing is that most of the time I just accepted that as the ways things were and just got on with it. That was until the New Year rolled around again and I was 
determined to “shake the dust from my sandals” and to start the year afresh with a new attitude and a determination to not get bogged down with particular personalities or dwell on the bitter disappointments of the recent past. This was not just some whimsical wish-fest but a concerted effort to want to get on with doing great things for God. The effect was intense and almost immediate.
After spending some serious time in the word over several days, I was just doing some mindless cleaning around the house when I was suddenly overcome with a sense of real joy. It took me by surprise (reminiscent perhaps of C S Lewis), but it felt like I’d been drenched from head to foot by a jug of water. I felt refreshed, invigorated, purposeful, content. It was an incredible feeling that I have reflected on many times since.
Restore unto me the joy of my salvation … (Psalm 51:12)
I recognized that feeling as joy. Unabated, uncontained, unspeakable joy! For the first time in a long time I felt like I was in sync with God and I’m very excited about where we go to from here. I’m also now a confirmed addict - I want more joy and not just for myself, but an overflowing abundance of joy which by its very nature becomes infectious and must be shared.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
This past Christmas season that song became a reality for me, I trust it will be for you too.
Writer: Bruce Redman is Editor of the Rubicon. He is an Australian film and television professional, radio broadcaster and university lecturer in journalism and communication. Bruce and his wife Anne headed up a team to plant an SA mission in Fortitude Valley, in inner-city Brisbane. He attends Carina Corps and is a lifelong, fourth generation Salvo with a mission heart. Personal Blogspot: http://neosalvosunite.wordpress.com/
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I think if we have to make hard and painful choices and changes in order to recover our joy in serving God we need to have the courage to do that. It’s also perhaps worth remembering that there are different ways of understanding and realising being ‘in’ TSA. TSA - the charism of TSA - can also be in us.
I hear you Bro and feel your pain but also rejoice with you in your realisations and newly found joy.
The next part of that verse in Psalms says ” … and renew a right spirit within me”.
Joy is one of those things that really help keep our spirits “right” and works in spite of the wordly nonsense that so many of us get caught up in.