THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH

"The joy of the Lord is your strength.” ( Nehemiah 8:10b )

"And the singers sang aloud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off." ( Nehemiah 12:42-43 )

All the people had been crying as they listened to the words of the Teachings in chapter eight of Nehemiah. They were slaves in a land that was promised to them, they had forgotten the Word of the LORD, and even though the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, their hearts broke as they heard and understood the Word of the LORD and realized that it was all due to their disobedience.

Here we see how they were instructed not to soak in their despair and sorrow, and it was at this point that the statement was made, “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.,” Holy sorrow is precious before God, and is no bar to godly joy, it is actually a stepping stone. Joy is awesome when it is released in our hearts.

I can remember when the Word of God was presented to me a lost, broken, hopeless, sinner at 15 years of age. I received it, and excepted Jesus as my only Lord and Saviour and the joy that comes from the Lord flooded my soul. I had no emotions to express it at the time, I felt like crying and laughing at the same time. I can remember that day I had a song in my heart and sang the only religious song I knew, “I Saw The Light.”

God had made the Children of Israel rejoice with great joy! The joy of Jerusalem was heard even a far off! They had joy, they still had a lot of things to overcome, but they had the joy of the Lord which was their strength.

David in his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 prays for the Lord to restore the joy of his salvation.
He also prays, “But I have trusted in Your loving kindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”
( Psalm 13:5 )

With out the joy of the LORD in our lives it is like running an automobile without oil. We need the joy of the LORD like we need food and water to survive.

“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” ( Acts 13:52 )

“For God's kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit.” ( Romans 14:17 )

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ( Romans 15:13 )

PRAYER
Father I thank you so much for joy, it is a wonderful gift that you choose to give to your children. Truly the joy of the LORD is our strength. Father I thank you for that day when I first partook of that joy when I was born again and the Holy Spirit took up residence in my life, my sins were wash away, and I became a sinner set free and forgiven. In the name of Jesus I pray with thanksgiving, amen