A Spectacle Of Glory #51

Read: Nehemiah 8:10

On a day when sadness and regret hung heavy in the air, Nehemiah told God’s people, “This day is holy to our LORD. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” What did he mean by that, anyway? What is this “joy of the LORD”—and how do I find it?

First, this experience of joy doesn’t have the slightest connection to your current circumstances, your emotional makeup, or the mood you woke up in this morning. It isn’t your joy at all; you can’t manufacture it, drum it up, or visualize it into existence. Second, this joy belongs to God. And He wants you to have it! He offers it as a gift of His Holy Spirit. He wants you to walk in it today and experience it to the full. How do you obtain it? You ask for it and then open your life to receive it.

Lord, in spite of my circumstances today and how I feel at this very moment, I ask that Your joy will rise within me. By faith, I take joy in all that really matters most—a heavenly Father who loves me, a Lord who is both Brother and Friend, and a Holy Spirit who is my Comforter, Counselor, and the Source of a joy so much deeper and sweeter than my own.