The Joy of the Lord

“The joy of the Lord is our strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) What a statement that is to make. Say it with me again a little bit louder. “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH.” Can you sense it? That wellspring of joy within your soul: the freeing feeling of having your sin, guilt, and shame lifted from your shoulders in exchange for God’s freedom, grace, and mercy. Or maybe the daily responsibilities of your daily life have become a burden to you. Have your thoughts and questions about the future – where to work, who to marry, should I marry, what classes should I take, did I take the right classes, sucked the joy right out of you? Have you come under such a burden that you can’t even get out of bed in the morning? Has your lack of joy and strength left you wondering what it is that God has done to you? Are you left questioning where God is in the midst of the circumstances of your life? Well… if that is the case, then take heart my friend because He has not abandoned you. He has not left you. He has begun a good work in you that He will not fail to bring to completion. That thought alone ought to bring some joyful ‘tude into your life. Let me ask you some questions as we continue on. Have you been spending time with the Lord lately? Have you been seeking Him? Meditating on His Word? Talking with Him throughout the day? Are you walking in obedience to the things that He has told you to be doing? Are you going to where He led you to go? Take it from me and my own personal experience. If you are not spending time with Him, walking according to His ways, and His path for your life you will not find your strength in the joy of the Lord, because your life is not lined up with Him. If though, as far as you can tell, you are walking in obedience to Him and to His Word, you are seeking Him; desiring to walk in His ways, then take heart: “Joy shall come in the morning.” Continue to seek Him and spend time with Him. One other thing that I have been thinking about that could be stealing your joy is the spiritual forces in this world. As followers of Christ we are at war with Satan and his demons. Maybe what you need to do is really begin to fight for your joy by engaging in this great spiritual battle that we are all a part of. I really do believe that by doing so you will begin to walk in the victory and in the joy that Christ has won for us. Maybe you need to put on that battle armor everyday and wield the Sword of the Spirit. Remember this; we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) Maybe though you are simply lacking joy in your life because your life has become so busy that you have been ignoring or have forgotten about all that God is doing and has done in your life. If that is the case then maybe what you need to do is take some time in the near future and spend some time evaluating your life with the Lord; Asking Him if there are some changes that need to be made, because there probably are. Spend some time thanking Him for the things that He has done in your life and for the things that He has brought you through and given to you. Yep, I really am going to say it again. It is the joy of the Lord that gives us strength and by spending time with Him and thinking about His goodness is a help to igniting that joy within our souls. In closing I want to say this, “THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH!!!!!!!!!” Don’t forget it. The devil wants to steal your joy and squash it under his feet. Don’t let Him. By the power of the Holy Spirit within you, fight for the joy that Christ paid such a high price for us to attain.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted September 2008