"Our Strength"

"...The Joy of the Lord is our Strength.."  Nehemiah 8:10.

These words were spoken to a crowd of returning Israelites to Jerusalem. 
 During rebuilding of this once great city.  Ezra reads and the people are on
there faces, weeping before the Laws of Moses. 

During these moments Ezra speaks.  Get up enjoy celebration and know
that it is the Joy found in our Lord that is our strength.

I don't think that God sets out on a mission to see what will make
us happy.  Happiness is fleeting and can be gone as soon as a problem
shows up.  Joy of the Lord surpasses worldly understanding.  It
can be the end of a long battle against the enemy.

In the midst of life.  Joy is found in Christ.

If we don't seek out joy, if we aren't looking to keep our minds
on Love, joy, peace, long suffering.  Where are our minds going?
It takes strength to make right choices that will lead to
renewal of mind in Christ, in our lives.

We can most definitely be bound by loss of joy.  Our strength
minimized by focusing on the wind around us.  Focusing on
the problems of life. 

How do we do what seems impossible?  How do we turn that switch?

God can do that for us.  With out a doubt.  But do we know how
to let Him.

Matthew 13:11-12
He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been
given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he
will have in abundance.  Whoever does not have, even what he has will be
taken from him.

The mystery of suffering turned to joy.  Internal strife turned to joy.
Hurt feelings turned to joy. These are some of
Secrets of The Kingdom of Heaven.

I didn't understand this passage of ... "Whoever has will be given more"
I thought "How unfair"  What if I wasn't "given anything".  BUT...
this passage is speaking about knowledge and how to build on the
knowledge of the "Kingdom of Heaven" through seeking
out Gods word.  You learn a little.  Then a little more.
Its a building process.
You understand something than move on to understand even
more.  On and on building this knowledge goes. 

You can not understand all of what God offers, what he
expects, what His blessings are unless you dive into the
scripture and read and pray.

I write as someone who has been lost in joylessness.  I wasn't
prepared when Satan came to steal, trick and mutilate my life. After
that I decided that I would start building again. Like the children
of Israel in Nehemiah.  My  entire city was lost taken over by sin. 
Destroyed. Because of Gods promises of repentance and redemption
 my city was rebuilt.  With it came hard hard work and the realization of
the "Laws of Moses"   that still find me weeping. God spoke to me as to Ezra.

"The Joy of the Lord is your strength"

What are you doing today to prepare for your "unsurpassed,
indescribable, victorious over the enemy who threatens our lives,
unbelievable, unmistakable joy.

The Joy that comes from the Lord is our STRENGTH.

Go out make a powerful stand against the enemy and speak, live
and pass along some joy today.

Such a simple small word.  But the Bible clearly states

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength




¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your
 hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love,
¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints,
to grasp
how wide and long and high and deep
is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19