Joy of the Lord

We all have said “that” prayer where we ask God for strength to make it through a tough situation in our lives or to get through a temptation we may be struggling with, but have ever stopped to realize what exactly we are asking for as we tell our Creator to give us strength?

            Well the bible says in Nehemiah 8:10 that the Joy of the Lord is our strength. This occurred to me in the strangest way. I was in the shower, singing as I normally do, when I started to sing the words from the hymnal, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength…” I stopped and thought to myself about how could the Lord’s Joy give me strength in my life and what exactly does this mean. Joy is defined in the dictionary as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” But the Joy God speaks of in the bible is not like this. The Joy He speaks of comes from Him, and it is a Joy that we have because He lives in us. In life, if I am a Christian, I don’t want my success or good fortune to determine if I have Joy or not. The real Joy I want to experience is the Joy I have because I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

So how can this joy be our strength? Well for me when I used to pray the prayer asking for strength to make through something or get over a struggle, I assumed this meant that at the time I was tempted or when the problem occurred, then I would magically be able to overcome the problem because a random boost of strength would come upon me, like a bolt from heaven, or something along those lines. I found this never happened. Then I realized that this isn’t the type of strength I was supposed to have in those circumstances. The strength I needed was from the Joy I have found in Jesus Christ! I didn’t need a temporary joy from a bad habit or a good circumstance to arrive on a bad day in order for me to feel “Joyful.” What I needed was the permanent Joy that comes only from a personal relationship with God my father. So in those times of struggle, I now say to myself that I have a true Joy from God and I no longer need a false joy to make my day. This is my strength; Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and of earth! A being that neither death nor a grave could hold, so because He is in you, nor will your problems and struggles hold you! Amen.

So I encourage you, those who may be struggling with an addiction or may be going through a tough time in life; no circumstance that may arrive in your life is ever too big for God to handle. Next time you are encountering a problem, try to remember that because He is in you, you can have the Joy of the Lord, which is a strength like no other.