Nehemiah 8:10…a verse Christians know so well…”Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Grief and joy – two words that I’m pretty sure no one wants to pair together. The lowliness of losing my Mom was a place of grief that I would say was not joyful. Little did I know, though, that through the pain and loss of her, my brother would be saved and I would mature in my faith as I continue to seek God’s truth to navigate these “fiery trials.”
Yesterday, at lunch, a teacher friend was asking me for some advice. After school, I asked for her cell number because I wanted to send her what God had placed on my heart last week (link). Little did I know the Lord would soon lay before me a trial that was unforeseen. It wasn’t until that night I was able to send her the link to my devotional I had just written the week before. I actually reread it through my tears and as I tried to get what would be just a few hours of sleep. The next morning, I was talking through the situation with a precious, dear teacher friend. She told me do not let __________ (fill in the blank with your trial)______ steal your joy. And as she said that, I thought of “for the joy of the LORD is our strength.”
“For the joy of the LORD is our strength…” what exactly does that mean? I searched how many times “rejoice,” “joyful,” and “joy” was mentioned in the Bible. 430 times! 430 times the Lord told his followers to rejoice…rejoice in suffering…rejoice greatly…rejoice and be glad…rejoice in the Lord always. I came across a devotional that said rejoicing and being joyful isn’t an “EVEN THOUGH” moment, regardless if the “sun is shining, whether or not our team is winning, whether or not we are healthy or hurting.” The writer states, “Christian joy is the great pleasure and happiness that we feel because our redeemer lives, because we belong to him, and because he is making all things new.”
John Piper stated six reasons why we rejoice in suffering (link):
- Keep rejoicing because the suffering is not a surprise but a plan…THIS…THIS point right here brings me an insurmountable level of comfort for whatever lies ahead. No nervousness, no fretting, no anger…
- Evidence of Union – our suffering is evidence of our union with Christ
- A Means to Attaining Greater Joy in Glory – he states, “If we become embittered at life and the pain it deals us, we are not preparing to rejoice at the revelation of Christ’s glory. Keep on rejoicing now in suffering in order that you might rejoice with exultation at the revelation of his glory.”
- The Spirit of Glory and of God Resting on You – he states, “This means that in the hour of greatest trial there is a great consolation. In great suffering on earth there is great support from heaven. You may think now that you will not be able to bear it. But if you are Christ’s, you will be able to bear it, because he will come to you and rest upon you.“
- Glorifying God – Piper states, “When you keep rejoicing in God in the midst of suffering, it shows that God, and not other things, is the great source of your joy.”
- God’s Faithfulness to Care for Your Soul – 1 Peter 4: 19: “Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”
So what does all this have to do with joy? Because either I (and you) can be angry when we face challenges or we can maintain the JOY that we are called to have which will give us the strength we need. Either I (and you) can harbor resentment and grudges or have peace and comfort knowing that the challenge we faced was not a random, chaotic surprise outside of God’s design but a deliberate plan He is using to bring me (us) closer to Him. Either I (and you) can worry and cry about what the future holds or take comfort knowing that I am His!
Psalm 28: 7-8
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
