The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

Thank you, Nehemiah, for uttering the words "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10b).

I've read those words before, and I thought I knew what they meant. But now I get it! It's pretty much a fact that you need to experience something to fully understand it. Like in teaching, you can lecture a certain subject to the kids and give them a test...OR you can show them the strategy, have them practice, have them teach it to their own classmates and then give them a test. Which scenario would result in higher test scores? They would definitely gain more experience via the second option. I guess this is one of those times. I'll just say right now, I'm giving myself an A+!!!

It's not as if I never went through sorrow before, I have...but usually it's about things that are inevitable, things I knew were bound to happen. In some cases, the sorrow was unexpected, but I knew I would get past it with time.

But have you ever just been stuck? Some circumstance you've been in where you didn't expect it AND you were pretty sure it wouldn't change and there was no light at the end of the tunnel? What do you do then? How do you react when you pretty much know you're never going to get your way in this situation? And I'm talking about tacking it up right in the category of praying for someone to be healed and yet you continue to watch them suffer. Exactly, it has the possibility of stinking! And I say "possibility" on purpose, which you'll see why in a minute...

Well, I was full of hopelessness, anger, resentment toward God, and getting pretty obstinate about the area I was stuck in. A complete brat, to be sure. But one day not that long ago, the lightbulb went on. I was in my bible study and we were studying about the Holy Spirit. And we came across the following verses:

"Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest (reveal) Myself to him." John 14:19-21

How could I forget that because I believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit is not only one and the same as He, but that He lives IN me??? It's like the idea of the Holy Spirit was "head knowledge", but I wasn't applying that to my daily life. Just as importantly, I was reminded that all this time I've been seeking and searching for joy and for Jesus to be more in my life, it is MY job to give Him more of ME! And how will I have more of Him if I am not reading the Bible, the only place I am going to get to know Him? Now I've read a lot of the Bible already. However, it's like an old friend...you know you're friend well when you spend time with them, but if they move far away you spend less time with them and are missing out on their lives. It's the same with Jesus. Jesus doesn't change, but we can neglect His Word long enough that we can forget who He is.

Wow. Well, this left me a little stunned, I have to say. Like the big "DUH!" sticker on my forehead I felt I should have received for not realizing that. For allowing myself to be pulled down into a pit of despair and sadness. What I realized is this: It is a choice. I can choose to acknowledge the Holy Spirit living in me---who IS there once I put my faith in Jesus, OR I can choose to ignore the Spirit and by doing so will miss out on all He has to offer me and in turn to the other people in my life that I come across. Because when Jesus left this earth, he did not really leave us at all, he left the Holy Spirit so that we would not be alone until the time when Jesus returned again.

The trinity is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If you believe that Jesus is the son of God who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected so that we live eternally (in Heaven) then the Holy Spirit is part of the package. ..."For when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father" John 15:26

According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit is the "spirit of God" and his character is amazing! Here are some things I learned about His Spirit from our bible study, Pursuing More of Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz:

He is named in the Bible as our Counselor and our Comforter. A counselor is defined as someone who is wise, who gives advice and manages problems. He can do that for us! A comforter is defined as someone who relieves mental distress. He can do that for us! Isn't that a relief?

He is Truth. The Holy Spirit doesn't lie. He won't lie to us! Also, the Spirit is holy. Because He is holy that means that He has no selfishness, no meanness, no rudeness, no anger...isn't that so lovely when we know many others who are that way? Isn't it sweet to know that as a believer, the Spirit who lives inside you of course convicts the world of sin, but is not rude or mean or selfish or angry? What a joy!

Which leads me back to where I started from. The joy of the Lord is my strength. So I've been wrapping my head around this whole new remembrance of who Jesus is and who the Holy Spirit is, and meanwhile I was in a situtation where this trial I've been going through was present once more...and I just happened to smile to myself in that moment and think "The Holy Spirit is within me" and I smiled (I actually smiled amidst a time that could be filled with sorrow) and my next thought was "The joy of the Lord is your strength".

Suddenly, I felt calm and reassured and I knew that everything would be okay whether things were how I thought they "ought" to be or not. That regardless of what I wanted, it was small in the spectrum of all eternity and really wasn't the end of the world. And I felt joyful! JOYFUL and STRONG in the middle of a weak situation. Like Paul says, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10 Whereas in the past I might've burst into tears, I was nearly laughing with true joy! And that, my friends, must be the work of the great Counselor and Comforter. The Holy Spirit whom I love.