Joy Of the Lord
“The joy of the Lord is my strength” Nehemiah 8:10
I have always heard the scripture mentioned above and repeated it many times, but I did not quite understand it. I was reading over this scripture when the Holy Spirit asked me the definition of joy. I wanted to continue reading the chapter in Nehemiah, so I glazed over explaining what I thought joy meant. However, you all know that when the Holy Spirit speaks to you, you have to stop and respond. So, I ultimately looked up the word joy (just an fyi, when God does that prompting when you are reading the Bible he is ultimately teaching you how to study his word)!
Joy – noun
1. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires;
2. delight;
3. the expression or exhibition of such emotion;
4. gaiety, a state of happiness or felicity;
5. bliss, a source or cause of delight.
Joy – verb
1. to experience great pleasure or delight; rejoice.
As I sat and meditated on the definition of joy I could not seem to connect the meanings of joy and strength with each other. I said to God, “I think I am missing something.” Then the Holy Spirit led me to this article that talked about what brings God joy. The article led me to the following scriptures listed below:
‘For the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross” Hebrews 12:2
“And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people” Isaiah 65:19
“And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5
“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more JOY in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7
“He will take GREAT DELIGHT in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will REJOICE over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
I got so excited after reading these scriptures! What brings God joy is his bride which is those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior and obey his will. We are strengthened through God’s joy because when we are in his presence we are completely full. He says that he will never leave us nor forsake us. The only way we miss God’s strength is when we step out of his presence.
Can you believe that we are his joy? Did you see the definition of joy? God experiences great pleasure and delight over us! Beloved we are his creation, and his joy is to have us in his presence as he did with Adam in the beginning. He so desired to have a relationship with us that he sent his only begotten son to die for our sins!
Father, thank you that your joy is our strength! What an honor and privilege it is to be in the family of God. It is our hearts’ desire to obey you and bring you joy in all that we do. We love you and praise you! In Jesus name Amen!
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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