Day 31
Nehemiah 8:10 Amplified Version
"…for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold."
The scripture says the joy of the Lord is your .... That tells me the joy of the Lord is mine. I have the joy of the Lord. When the apostle said, "Rejoice in the Lord always," (Philippians 4:4) he affirmed that joy is something we possess. We have control. If we run out of joy in our souls, we are connected to the source and can stir up joy anytime we want to. Joy is also listed as part of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). It came with our salvation package.
The psalmist said in Psalm 43:4, "...to God my exceeding joy." Isaiah 51:11 says that the redeemed of the Lord will return and come with singing to Zion and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. We possess a joy that has no end. It is never unavailable or inaccessible. Jesus, according to John 15:11, expressed His desire for His followers to have joy. He told them He shared things with them so His joy might be in them and that their joy might be full, complete and overflowing.
According to Romans 14:17, the kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Spirit. The Word of God clearly removes any excuse from us for not being able to enjoy life. I am not talking about just having fun, but living a life of joy overall. Surely we can experience sorrow temporarily, but we have the joy of the Lord to say, "Time's up!" to sorrow and mourning. We can escort them out and watch them flee away. They should never stay around long enough to sap away our strength and send us into a period of defeat. The joy of the Lord is ours, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.
I have the joy of the Lord. His joy makes me strong.