Is the Joy of the Lord Really Your Strength?

Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."


I have read this many times but I really didn't hear what it said. I may have repeated it. I may have preached or blogged about it but I really didn't let it sink in. "The joy of the Lord is your (my) strength."

I suppose I might have said that I should be mighty in God's word (true). I might have said that I might become mighty in the Spirit (true). But I doubt if I would have said I will be mighty in the joy of the Lord.

I am confident when I have the joy of the Lord. I don't grieve or doubt when I have the joy of the Lord. I celebrate the goodness of God and believe more strongly in His goodness when I have the joy of the Lord. I tell others of my faith when I have the joy of the Lord. I get along with others when I have the joy of the Lord.

I suppose the joy of the Lord can only be known when I am in the presence of the Lord. How could I be strong "in" the Lord when I am separate from the Lord? How can a church service really be honoring to God if the joy of the Lord is absent? Doesn't the joy of the Lord follow true conviction? Doesn't the conviction and obedience lead us to the joy of the Lord? Doesn't the joy of the Lord follow making a commitment to Christ?

Why does the atmosphere in many churches resemble that of morgues? People walk around with faces that look like they have been sucking oatmeal out of gas pipes! Is it fair to say that these churches have no strength if they lack the joy of the Lord?

The joy of the Lord is truly my strength. I must remember this when discouragement, gloom and doom come seeking to knock me down.