Joy of the Lord

The Joy of the Lord is our strength. 

For some reason set as it was to music in Jenn Johnson's spontaneous song once* is on my heart and mind as I sit to write this evening.

What does it mean to have the joy of the Lord?

How can we carry His joy?

It means dancing instead of despair and praise instead of heaviness (Psalm 30:11 and Isaiah 61:3)

'To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever' (Psalm 30:12)

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

To praise Him instead of giving up.

For His grace is sufficent for us, and His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

To dance before You instead of doubting

For He has given us not the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

To call out to God instead of despairing, and hope.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Love Him, for He is our hope and the source of our days,

He is hope-worthy. Trust in the Lord is never misplaced. He holds us secure.

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

...

Come and see, really see, all the reasons we have for joy in Christ.

We need someone to really delve into the theology of celebration, the type of celebration Nehemiah called for in Nehemiah 8:

Verse 1 introduces the setting, we find:

'all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. 

In verses 2 and 3:

'Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard...And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.'

In verse 6:

'Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 

Verses 7 & 8:

'the Levites...helped the people to understand the Law'. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Verse 9 says:

And Nehemiah,...Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites...said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 

IN THIS CONTEXT, 

to the people who have heard the Word having listened intently to it, 

worshipped God for it, 

and are now weeping at the sheer weight of it,

probably undone by how much they have fallen short of God's standard, 

he says... REJOICE:

Verse 10:

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 

Verses 11 &12 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Just rejoice. 

It doesn't matter if you aren't there yet, haven't measured up, have fallen short of God's glory; as long as your attention is riveted to Him, your eyes to His face, your ears to His heart, 

there is no need to fear or despair. 

Don't feel sorry for yourself or give up trying to be holy. Listen, hear His Word, and rejoice. 

Rejoice that He is able. 

Rejoice that He is your teacher. 

Rejoice that His Word is a lamp to your feet. 

Rejoice that Your name is written in the Book of Life. 

Rejoice that, above all,

He 'is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 

To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.' (Jude 24-25)

Rejoice!

💖

*https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bethelmusic/joyofthelordspontaneous.html

Scripture verses are taken from the NKJV or ESV