THE JOY OF THE LORD

“Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  (Neh.8:10b)

We can choose joy over sorrow.  Sorrow is a legitimate and powerful emotion, but is a response conditioned upon the circumstances.  There is plenty in this world to lead you to grieve—and it is alright to do so—for there are times even God grieves.  What we fail to do is move beyond that to see things through another lens—God’s perspective from eternity that can make us rejoice in all things for He is working all things for our good.

This joy we have is from the Lord Himself.  It is supernatural and has a strength to enable us to move forward whatever we face.  We know the paralysis and confusion that can descend upon us when sorrow falls like a fog.  It is in those seasons that the joy of the Lord can lift us up and lead us on.  It begins with an act of the will as we meditate on the truth of Scripture and rejoice in the Lord, expressing with our lips the truth that sets us free.

God gives joy after sorrow—following as spring comes after winter:

“To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”  (Isa.61:3)

The crying will be supplanted by consolation.  The ashen face will be replaced by a beautiful radiance.  The bowed head of mourning will be lifted up as it is anointed with the oil of joy.  The cloak of heaviness will be removed and the garment of praise worn instead—funeral clothes for festival attire.  Where we have bent as a tree buffeted by hurricane winds, our roots have only gone deeper—this is the root of the righteous—the planting of the Lord.  In all this God is glorified.  He is glorified in our gladness for it is the expression of His joy.

“I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.” (Isa.65:19)

God finds reason to rejoice in us.  He has great joy in those whom He has justified.  We are not perfect, but we are His.  He delights in what He will do and sees us as the finished product!  This is why Jesus could look at Simon and call him “Peter”—the Rock!

Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning!  Sorrow is a product of living in a world ravaged by sin and death, but soon that tyranny ends and God wipes away all tears, heals all disease, bans all pain—what a day!  That promise gladdens our heart now with anticipation.  God sees what it will be and invites us to expectantly enjoy that hope!