The Joy of the Lord

The temperature is frigid.  That might be an understatement.  Just possibly.  School was canceled today and a two-hour delay is already planned for the morning.  My fingers are laced in cold even now as I type.

I have been contemplating joy.  Consider Nehemiah 8:10b: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."  Nehemiah asks the Israelites with him to not grieve.  Though they had seen tremendously hard times and did not know the future, Nehemiah exhorts them to lay aside what pains their hearts.  Yet, knowing that humans cannot simply ignore their grief, he goes on to state that "the joy of the Lord is your strength."

The joy of the Lord.  Joy is something that is lacking in the raw human heart.  There is no natural joy but rather a natural pessimism, fear, and longing that resides in our souls.  The happiness we feel upon the arrival of good times lasts but briefly and we are once again left with the grim reality of broken earthly life.  It is a sad fact that what ails us gets more attention than those other aspects in life that might actually be in line.  We feel the prick of every shard of glass that has broken away from what we know should be. 

Yet, there is joy that is supernatural.  There is joy offered to us through the grace of God.  That joy is not only illuminating and refreshing, it is strengthening as well.  "The joy of the Lord is your strength."  Anyone who has experienced grief knows how exhausting it is.  Pain and heartache saps us of energy, motivation, and the will to live well.  We shrivel under such sorrow.  Praise God, then, for the joy that He offers and for the strength that it bestows!

Are you in a state of exhaustion or grief?  Turn to the Lord.  Surrender to Him.  Lay your griefs at His feet and watch His joy strengthen your life.  You need not wait until times are good.  He is asking you to give Him your heart now and to allow His joy to encompass you.  His joy will imbue you with life and vitality once again.  May this truth permeate you and me today!