“…this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10b
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his is the sixth in the “Great Gospel Words” devotional series. I begin with a reminder of the theme of this series.
Long, multi-syllabic words often characterize Bible teaching that is grounded in sound theology. Justification, sanctification and glorification are examples. All of these words are important and the truth contained in them is essential. However, for emphasis, this series of devotionals is based on “Great Gospel Words” that are all single syllable. Profound Bible truth is often presented to us in one syllable words. So far, in the first five, we considered: But God, Come Now, The Rock, Kept, Come & See.
In this devotional, we are considering one of my favorite phrases in the Bible. I often close my letters with: “May the joy of the Lord be your strength as you serve Him.” Notice that every word in that sentence is one syllable.
Joy is so much more than an emotion or a fleeting feeling. Rather, it is one of the most profound dividends accrued to the follower of Christ. Joy is the noun, signifying that which the Lord supplies and grows in His people. Rejoice (or be joyful) is the verb form, indicating the manner in which we exhibit joy in our attitudes and actions.
Joy promotes an attitude of gratitude, even in circumstances that we would never choose for ourselves.
Rejoicing always is linked with giving thanks in all circumstances, as Paul wrote to his Thessalonian friends. Both rejoicing and giving thanks are stated to be the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. The context of 1 Thessalonians is saturated with the reality that they were experiencing great affliction and suffering. Yes - even in such circumstances - the work of Christ in us promotes joyful gratitude.
Joy provides us with strength to accomplish great tasks, even when our energy is draining away.
This is illustrated through the events recorded in Nehemiah. After decades of living in physical and spiritual rubble, Nehemiah arrives on the scene in Jerusalem. He is God’s man at God’s time accomplishing God’s purposes. He begins with a visible and troubling reminder of the problems the people are facing. The walls of the city are still in ruins. To the amazement of all, he rallies the people. Together they rebuild the walls in only fifty-two days. But there was no time for a break or to pat themselves on the back for their accomplishment. Now the larger and more serious problem – the spiritual backsliding – had to be addressed. To fix the physical problems while neglecting the spiritual problems is an exercise in futility.
Nehemiah 8 records an incredible account of the revival brought about simply through the reading and explaining of the Word of God to the people. The first and immediate reaction to the Word of God was mourning and weeping. Why? Because they were spiritually empty and depleted and they now realized how spiritually bankrupt they really were. Their apathy and disobedience of the previous decades had left them with NO spiritual strength. Now they were ready for a spiritual renewal and revival. This renewal and revival is presented in one declaration from Nehemiah to the people: “…this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b). Continuing in Nehemiah, you will find a record of spiritual gains that far outdistance in importance the remarkable rebuilding of the walls.
Here is an important spiritual reminder: Our enemy relishes it when we invest all of our time addressing our physical and material problems, ignoring the spiritual and eternal matters of life.
Joy propels us to pursue the will of the Lord, even when the pathway is difficult.
Jesus, being both totally man and totally God, agonized over the prospect of the cross. He knew that at the cross all of the righteous anger and wrath of a holy God would be born by Him as he shed His blood and died for our sin. In spite of this, He was committed to carrying out the will of His Father. Hebrews 12 grants us a penetrating insight into this event from the perspective of Jesus. “…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
Joy paves the way for the new redeemed nature to predominate, even when the old sin nature is attempting to rear its ugly head.
The Lord, who saved us, has given us the Holy Spirit to sanctify us. Sanctification is accompanied by the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives, thus crowding out the noxious weeds and thorns of the self-life. Joy is not a task to be pursued; it is a fruit that supernaturally grows as we abide in Christ. Galatians 5:22-23 lists nine fruit of the Spirit. While it is really not possible to rank these from one to nine in order of importance, it can be asserted that if the first three are growing – love, joy, peace – the other six will follow - patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Let’s not cheapen joy into a fickle emotion. Joy is a powerful spiritual force that is absolutely necessary for experiencing growth, effectiveness and victory in living for our Lord.
