In the Bible, in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, we can find a short phrase which has the potential to make us stronger than any amount of protein we consume, any pre-workout we could ever drink, or any weight we could ever lift.
Nehemiah was a governor over the people of Israel in Jerusalem when they were rebuilding the wall around the city. After the wall was built, the people held a celebration where God’s Law was read aloud to them and they declared the day to be holy. The people were instructed to then eat and drink and enjoy the day. The last phrase Nehemiah, and the priest named Ezra, said to the people was “for the joy of the Lord is your strength”.
“For the joy of the Lord is your strength”
Happiness is based upon current circumstances and can wane. Joy is an attitude which is rooted in those deep seated things that no one can take away from you.
We all need to ask ourselves where our true joy comes from. For the people of Israel back in the Old Testament times, it came from knowing God, His Word and His promises to them. We are taught in Scripture that God is love and in Him there is no sin or falsehood, He will never leave us or forsake us, He is the beginning and the end, He is patient with us, He doesn’t want anyone to perish but to have eternal life through faith in His Son Jesus, He is forgiving, He is a perfect Father to the fatherless, He is the light of the world, He is full of grace and truth and much much more.
At Worthy, I have started to coach some of the Strength sessions in the early mornings, and the goal of those sessions is...well, you guessed it, to increase our strength. It is very impressive how much weight many of you can lift and almost everyone sees improvement weekly. With those improvements-and ‘gold stars’ we accumulate-comes a certain sense of joy and happiness and accomplishment.
What I would like to suggest, is that we all begin to seek the joy that comes from knowing God, knowing His Word (the Bible), and knowing His promises to us. God, and the joy He brings is something that no one can take away.
So today, let the joy of the Lord be your strength.
Coach Brett
