The term “the joy of the Lord is my strength” is found in Nehemiah 8:10. It’s after the children of Israel returned to Jerusalem from exile. They were listening to the law being read, were overcome with condemnation, and were weeping.
When Ezra was reading the law to the people it produced sorrow because their lives and behavior were not in alignment with the law. But instead of being rebuked and condemned, they were instructed to celebrate because of “the joy of the Lord.” Why would the Lord have joy when they were “a bunch of sinners?”
Well, the short answer is because of God’s indefatigable, infallible, and incomprehensible love. As many of you know, the children of Israel were never known for their perfect behavior. They were known for being the people of God. They were His and because of Christ we too are His!
You see, joy in Christ is not based upon the temporary experiences of life. Experiences are the wrong foundation for faith, that’s why some seem to fall away from Jesus as soon as trials come along (Matthew 13:20-21). No, our joy grows out of deep belief, repentant dependence upon Christ, from our obedience to Jesus’ Lordship, and upon our submission to the authority of God’s written Word, the Bible. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).
In fact, our joy is the working of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As He guides us we manifest the fruit of the Spirit (which) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The apostle Paul instructed the Ephesians to …be filled (controlled) with the Spirit, resulting with believers communicating with …one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:18-21).
My brothers and sisters, as believers, our joy is in reality the Lord’s joy. His Holy Spirit generates the joy, the Word of God fuels the joy, and our surrenderedness expresses our faith that works in synchronism with the will of God to accomplish all this in His name and for His glory.
Today, I encourage you to surrender, to love, and to forgive as you have been forgiven.This week, I challenge you to sit at His feet, rest in His presence, take on His yoke/burden, and walk in His joy!
4GIVEN 