*The joy of the Lord is my strength* Nehemiah 8:10
Let's look at what Joy means here. Webster's dictionary says it > means a glad feeling,happiness, great pleasure,delight, cheerful. but, that is man's understanding of Joy. True Joy is far beyond what man can put into simple words or explanation, and few ever truly comprehend it.
Here is a few bible verses that give an understanding to true Joy.
Psalm 9:1-2> I will praise you O Lord with all of my heart. I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with Joy because of you.I will sing praises to your name O most High.
Psalm 28:7> The Lord is my strength and my shield, I trust him with all of my heart. He helps me and my heart is filled with Joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
Isaiah 51:11> Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return, they will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting Joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear and they will be filled with Joy and gladness.
Nehemiah 8:10 > Don't be dejected and sad, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.
And there are many, many more verses that are filled with explanation of true Joy.
Many seem to think that they have joy when they receive something they want or do something they are proud of or someone says good things about them but, this is worldly joy: it's temporal, it will soon fade. But, as we see so much in scripture true Joy comes from the Lord , it is his Joy imparted to us and that's the only way we can experience true Joy; through the Lord.
As I was doing some research on this subject I came across a few interesting statements and I thought I would share them with you.
John W. Ritenbaugh says in his sermon on the fruit of the spirit-Joy.It appears that for us to experience a biblical Joy, the fruit of God's spirit, we need godly inner qualities that we do not possess by nature. As with love- the love that springs from us by nature, that is but a pale reflection of God's love- so also is it with Joy. Until we come to the point where we are supremely confident of God's presence in our life- of his providence towards us in the past, present, and future- we will not experience the enduring fullness of Joy that God wants us to have.
Charles Spurgeon from his sermon: The Joy of the Lord the strength of his people-1871
He cannot be an unhappy man who can cry, "Abba, Father." The spirit of adoption is always attended by love, joy, and peace, which are fruits of the Spirit; for we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we have received the spirit of liberty and joy in Christ Jesus. "My God, my Father." Oh how sweet the sound. But all men of God do not enjoy this, say you. Alas! we grant it, but we also add that it is their own fault. It is the right and portion of every believer to live in the assurance that he is reconciled to God, that God loves him, and that he is God's child, and if he doth not so live he has himself only to blame. If there be any starving at God's table, it is because the guest stints himself, for the feast is superabundant. If however, a man comes, and I pray you all may, to live habitually under a sense of pardon through the sprinkling of the precious blood, and in a delightful sense of perfect reconciliation with the great God, he is the possessor of a joy unspeakable and full of glory.
So in conclusion what we find in the word is that the only way to receive true Joy is through the Lord. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. It is His Joy to give.
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