Sluggish Hearts

I just read something from John Piper's book "The Dangerous Duty of Delight" that I really needed to hear today. He says:

"It is true that our hearts are often sluggish. We do not feel the depth or intensity of affections that are appropriate for God or His cause. It is true that at those times we must exert our wills and make decisions that we hope will rekindle our joy. Even though joyless love is not our aim, nevertheless it is better to do a joyless duty than not to do it, PROVIDED that there is a spirit of repentance that we have not done all of our duty because of the sluggishness of our hearts."

Please tell me, am I the only one "who has a sluggish heart". Am I the only one who, at times, "does not feel the depth or intensity of affections that are appropriate for God or His cause?"
I have felt this way today and I have been miserable. It's during these times you don't want to read the Word even when you know that's the place we need to go to have our joy restored to us. I was riding in the car on the way home from the gym today asking God to fill my cup until it overflows. Out of a sluggish heart might I add. And this is what I heard in my heart.

How can I fill your cup when you don't lift it up? How can I fill your cup when you are not in my Word. How can I fill your cup when you aren't on your knees crying out for more? How can I feel your cup when you pout instead of praise.

And that is what I didn't want to do. I wanted to be filled without doing anything. But even in the sluggishness of our heart He will be faithful to us when He knows our hearts desire Him more than anything else. You may be at the point where all you can say is "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" or "God, please change me" the way I have today, but when you lift your cup, even if you can't get it higher than your shoulder, God is faithful to fill it up when He sees your need for him and you humble yourself before Him.

Piper goes on to say that if the cheerfulness of obedience is not there, there are three steps we ought to take.
1. confess the sin of joylessness and acknowledge the coldness of your hear. (Psalm 61:2 My heart is faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
2. Pray earnestly that God will restore the joy of obedience. (I delight in your will O God: Your Law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8)
3. God ahead and do the outward dimension of your duty in the hope that the doing will rekindle the delight.

I needed to hear this today because Satan has delivered several blows to me today. A blow of discouragement, a blow of defeat, a blow of joylessness. Not through anyone, but in attacking my mind. This really bothers me because I hate when I feel joyless in my walk with the LORD. And it never occurred to me that this is in fact sin since throughout scripture God commands us to have joy, hope, fear (of the LORD), peace, etc. He commands us to delight in Him. And strangely enough, confessing my sin of joylessness (not to be mistaken with unhappiness) made me feel more joy.

So even when we have no joy, we must turn to the Lord, confess our sin and seek Him out to restore the joy we are missing.