Fruit of the Spirit: Joy by Staci Cooper

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

Go to Nehemiah Chapter 8. Read the chapter and then continue on.....

The Bible, in Nehemiah 8:10 , says "the joy of the LORD is your strength". How can the LORD's joy be my strength? How does that work?

Putting the verse back into its context tells us more about what is being said here. Nehemiah, the governor, directed and completed the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days! He had help from the people who had returned from exile and captivity with him from Babylon. This had been an on going project for almost 100 years! Ezra, the priest, is reading the book of the law, the Torah, to the people who have returned from captivity.

All of the people have assembled to hear the law. Verse 9 says that Nehemiah and Ezra tell the people:
"'This day is holy to the LORD your God, do not mourn or weep.' For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law."

Why is this day holy to the LORD?
Because His people have heard the law, the truth, and their hearts have been convicted of the sins they have committed against God.
They realize that they have broken covenant with God and that God has remained faithful.

Verse 10 Says: "Then he (Nehemiah) said to them 'Go, eat of the fat, and drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'"

Why are they to eat when they have just been weeping and mourning?
Because eating together is a part of the covenant that God has made with His people, including you and me.

Jesus came and gave us the New Covenant and we are to eat and drink, in rememberance of what He did for us. His body and His blood are what allow us to be in covenant with Him.

Eating and drinking (taking Communion) remind us to look at the covenant God made with us and to examine how we are doing on keeping covenant with Him.

God always upholds His end of the covenant and He knows that we will fail. Yet, He still sent His Son to fulfill our half of the covenant. So that we could live eternally with Him.

Christ is the ONLY ONE that is able to do that. Not our works, our prayers, our thoughts, our zeal, our busyness, or our belief. That is why His grace is SO amazing!

That is why "the joy of the LORD is your strength." Did you catch it?

When we come to the LORD in repentance, in weeping and mourning, for breaking covenant with Him, for sinning, HE invites us to dine with Him.
God says to us, as filthy and dirty as we are, to come to His table.
He clothes us in His robe of righteousness (or reminds us that we are wearing His robe).
He invites us to eat with Him, to drink with Him at His feast of love.
The LORD says to us, “Come and eat with Me, commune with Me, for you have made known your covenant breaking before Me. Come and continue to keep covenant with me for I am filled with joy.”

Then, we are able to stand before our LORD in His strength because we are now keeping covenant with Him. He has restored us to Himself because His Word has instructed us in our shortcomings and we have acknowledged them.

O Beloved, I can't wait for that glorious day when we join Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!

Questions to think on:

-In what ways do you keep covenant with God?
-In what ways do you break covenant with God?
-What can you do today to find "the joy of the LORD"?