The Power of Joy
"...the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:10
This thought came to me when I was praying yesterday morning: When we love God more than we love ourselves we have power to push back the darkness. In other words, we push back darkness with our love for God!
And I thought to myself, "Wow! Yes! That is what is happening to me right now! I've been praying for God to move mountains and giving Him praise for who He is...and this is where the power is! Faith! Believing God!"
Creating a designated space to study and pray sets the scene for the radiant presence of God to be felt strongly. Darkness has to flee and JOY swoops into the room! Whoa! Yes! It's happening, Baby!
When we love someone we want to spend time with them; to be in their presence, right? We want our relationship to grow and blossom and bear fruit. The love grows like a fruitful vine. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).
When we love God more than we love ourselves we will always make time for Him. Hey, He constantly invites us to come to Him, but will we go? He says, Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,...you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29). Let's admit it, we always make time for what we want to do and find excuses for what we do not want to do.
When we love God more than we love ourselves we will pray often, regularly, fervently. Why? Because as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), we will see Him as He is, our Savior, Redeemer, Friend, Lord, Provider and Protector.
It seems to me biblical joy and thankfulness go hand-in-hand. I don't see how anyone can have joy without being thankful. We can't have joy without being humble, no way! Joy shows up when it's not about us, it's about Him!
Since the "...joy of the LORD is your strength" think about your attitude and behavior when you have no joy. What has happened to you? Weary? Discouraged? Frustrated? Depressed? Angry? Fearful? What's going on? What has happened to you that you have these feelings? What happens to your energy level? Your attitude? Worn out from trying to control your circumstances?
Maybe this verse has a literal meaning, too, that we seem to have more strength and energy when we are joyful. When we are joyful we are humble. We are trusting God. Think about it. I know it's true in my life! When I am joyful I have lots of strength because I'm full of energy, light-hearted and hopeful. There is great power in being filled with the joy of the Lord. And there's only one way to get it.
The more we seek God the greater the joy we experience because our relationship with Him has deepened! We know Him better; we are thankful and content knowing He is sovereign over the universe. He gives us His joy!
Jesus tells us that if we keep God's commands as He does we'll remain in His love. He tells us this so that My Joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 15:10-11).
There is also great freedom in loving God more than we love ourselves. We realize we're not in charge of our circumstances or anyone else's. Our responsibility and privilege is to enjoy God and love Him forever!
It's all about Him. And when it is...that's where we find our joy.
💖 Polly
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