"Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me."

This is the prayer of every believer: We don't want banishment from the presence of God.

First, He'll banish us! God is upright in His judgments and just in chastising sin. There's never been a sinner punished or a saint chastened who didn't deserve it. He disciplines us wisely to purify us to walk in His holiness [Heb 12:10-11]. He forces us to Christ by the rod of reproof, so we can be strengthened. He beats us and spoils us not. He's a GOOD FATHER who says, "You've gone this far, but no further." He teaches us to fear Him [Jer 32:39-40]. Pain is a great motivator to stay near Jesus Christ, because the removal of God's presence is the worst thing to us.

Secondly, without God's presence, we lose strength! We are like Samson when his head was shaved, eyes gouged out, and he was making sport for his enemies. We are like David on the run, disciplined for his sins, hating his past behavior. We're like Adam, banished from the garden to toil and labor.

God's chastisement is painful if you love God, because He's your joy. Seeing Christ is everything to you, and if the Spirit is grieved, then you've lost your comfort, and confidence is lacking. A guilty conscience replaces peace, mourning replaces joy, and boldness is replaced with second guessing, doubt, and fear.

Oh child of God, know that sin isn't worth it. It pays you back horribly. It's a treacherous investment. Better to yield our neck to the strictest obedience than to fall into sin. It's not worth it, it's not worth it, it's not worth it!

Thirdly, there's hope! He's a prayer hearing God. "Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me." David wrote Psalm 51, my favorite Psalm and the favorite of many, when he was in the dungeon for transgressions. God still used him to cry out from a broken heart, so that WE can come to Him! Oh, the pity of a prayer hearing God. Oh, the usefulness that comes from trouble. Oh, how He uses us after we've failed. He gives us restoring and convicting power.

He will restore joy, because He's beautiful. He will forgive and cleanse. Bless His holy name!