A turning point in my faith occurred when I read the words in Nehemiah 8, “The joy of the Lord is your strength,” not for the first time, but with the first listening ears to hear the meaning of the words. Previously I had tucked these words into a category of pretty expressions. One day it occurred to me that joy and strength were not an obvious match, but in the mouth of Nehemiah , they were a powerful directive to the people of Israel, and brought a change into the lives and behavior of the returning exiles.

I saw that “joy” is the evidence of the presence of a good and powerful Spirit, and that strength is drawn from and appropriated from joy itself. This very simple truth opened my mind to the presence of God in the experience of joy. It dismissed the sense I had that joy is a temporary pleasure, like a Popsicle, or a lovely sunset, or a great concert, or ice skating in the moonlight. True joy is owned by God Himself,; and for those who know and accept this, it opens a world of joy to them that, like God Himself, is eternal.

Nehemiah was rebuking the people who had returned from exile when they wept over the broken condition of their old temple, and the overpowering prospect of restoring it; but mostly they wept at the reading of scriptures, scriptures they had not heard during the exile. The joy of return was burdened by the recognition of all they had lost, but Nehemiah and others insisted that their true and only real joy was in their Father God, and could never be diminished. They were instructed to eat and share food and gifts with their neighbors. They obeyed, and the joy of the Lord was in their midst.

After these thoughts, I remembered the joy of God Himself at the birth of His son: The Angel of the Lord said to them, ( the shepherds) “. . . I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10) Joy lives deep in the character of God and of His son. It’s clearly His intention to share and establish that joy in the hearts of His people. It is not a passing whim that lives on a Christmas card, but a reality that is essential in eternal life. From his birth to his death and Resurrection, Jesus was conscious of this joy: “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you; now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:21)

Love and Joy in Him,

Prue