Destination? Joyful! From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Are we really headed toward mid-July already? Sometimes I wish I could make time stand still, especially after victories, that I may bask in the joy that follows such victories, but then again, if we are standing still, we are stagnant, lukewarm and we all know what happens when that happens! So, let’s keep moving forward, one day closer to His glorious return! Oh, the joy of heaven! Grab your coffee and come on in for a bit!

So far we’ve discovered that no matter what’s been taken from us, done to us, happened concerning us, joy is within and is able to be stirred up! Joy is a representation of the abstract feeling or concept, meaning it is part of our emotions within us. Joy stirs us into action and joy usually follows a victory.
Let’s continue on our joy track. I think I already mentioned there are 210 references to joy in the Word, but no worries, we won’t be going through all of them! The next joy stop will be in Nehemiah. We’re going to stop here because this type of joy is referred to as the “joy of the Lord.”

Let’s get a bit of background on this guy. When we come to this book of the Bible, and into Nehemiah’s world, we learn that he was surrounded by chronic complainers and gripers, people who complained about all the problems of their world. And while Nehemiah was able to recognize some truths in the complaints, and felt distress in his heart, he chose not to be part of the problem, rather to be part of the solution! In order to do that, he had to take action and when he began to march into action, he met amazing opposition! STOP! I cannot just whiz by this truth.

Why is it when we meet opposition, we think immediately that we must be doing something wrong? Or that we are not walking in God’s will? Many times, quite the opposite is true! See God uses trials to produce perseverance and perseverance produces patience and patience fuels faith/trust in the only One who will never let us down! Nehemiah was an amazing example of a man whose joy kept him as part of the solution to the problem!

We won’t stay in the book of Nehemiah but let me just give you a short version of his story: He gave up a comfortable and wealthy position to return to his broken homeland of his ancestors in order to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall and thereafter lead the people. As I turn the pages in the Book of Nehemiah, I see that he was an incredible man of prayer through all things. Because Nehemiah invited God into all things that concerned him and his people, God had room to work in his life and all that concerned him.

I read further that at times Nehemiah expressed anger to God, but did not move in his anger or take matters in his own hands; he trusted God. Wow, I think I want to do an in-depth study about this guy! Let’s move to the reference to joy, though so we can stay on track.

It’s found in Nehemiah 8:10 but this is spoken by Ezra and the verse says: “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’.” Oooh, don’t you just love that last part? But what does the first part mean?

So I looked at the footnotes and, wow, talk about perspective! See, this instruction to not sorrow was because the people were weeping openly about having strayed so far from God; they had Godly sorrow! Because they had Godly sorrow, they had the joy of the Lord, and that would be their strength!

Hmm, could it be that Godly sorrow produces joy?

Pondering with you . . .

Evinda