“…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” – Nehemiah 8:10.
Joy is defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Biblical joy is that which is rooted in who the Lord is, rather than in ourselves, our circumstances, or our accomplishments. And as evidenced in the Bible verse above, it is also a source of strength. To give further context, in this passage, Nehemiah says this to the Israelites after they received the Law of God. They began to cry because upon hearing and understanding the Law, they realized how much they had grieved God by transgressing his laws through their way of living. But Nehemiah quickly urges them not to grieve, because, despite their wrongdoings, God still loved them and was still moving in their midst, despite all of their transgressions.
The Israelites had a valid reason to weep, as they realized how they were living in sin, contrary to God’s will. Nehemiah’s response demonstrates that we should not let sorrow overcome us. Sorrow is a common human experience, and to feel deeply sad or disappointed by our circumstances, something we’ve done, or something that was done to us is a normal response; we all can relate to this. However, as children of God, sorrow should never be our song. The wonderful thing about having a relationship with God is that we can give everything to Him.
Psalms 38:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”, and I can attest to this from personal experience. There was a specific time in my life when I was trusting God for something, and while thinking about it, I was overcome with an overwhelming sadness. It’s easy to stay in these feelings and become helpless because we feel weak. This is what the devil wants. In that moment, though, I cried out to God and felt His love for me in a very personal and real way. It is not God’s will that we remain in moments of deep sadness. Again, these emotions are normal and part of the human experience, but we have a God who can and will lift us out of these moments as long as we call out for Him. God is always moving in our lives, whether we see it or not. It may not happen instantly or when we want it to, but it will happen according to his perfect will and plan. Psalms 30:5 says, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”
It’s easy to seek joy from earthly sources like relationships, jobs, drinking, partying, etc., unfortunately, the satisfaction from these sources is temporary and many times, even sinful. However, only the joy that comes from the Lord satisfies our souls, and the presence of the Lord is where we can experience complete, fulfilling joy. Psalms 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” It is through praise, worship, thanksgiving, and prayer, both alone and with other believers, that we experience the presence of the Lord. I encourage you this week to seek and trust in the joy that God provides us.
