Nehemiah 8:10

“Then he [Ezra] said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to the Lord.  Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10 (NAS)

I’ve spent all week thinking about this verse.  I’ve tried to relate it to the reading of God’s word to the Israelites, to the Feast of Booths and how the people were to praise the Lord for the work that He had done for their ancestors—bringing them out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the desert and feeding them with manna for 40 years.  All these things are important to God, to them, to me, but what I think the Lord is trying to teach me is much more simple and yet very complex.

As children, we learn the chorus, “The Joy of the Lord is my Strength.”  It is fun to sing and easy to remember, but I never thought out it’s significance.  The people in Nehemiah had rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem.  They had gathered together and asked Ezra to read “the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel (8:1,2).”  The people were so moved by what they heard, that they began to weep.  That says to me that the Lord had flooded their hearts and souls with so many emotions—joy, brokenness, awe, grace, compassion, mercy, wonder, excitement, guilt, anger, love—that their reaction was to humble themselves before the Living God and all they could do was cry.  (I’ve been there before.)  Ezra says in essence, “Folks, look, God is doing a work here in our lives.  This is a good thing, a holy day.  No more weeping.  Rest in God’s joy, feel His strength, know He is real.  We will make this a time to celebrate.”

When God moves in my life, I need to rest in His joy and let it flow out of me and onto others for this is a witness of God.  A reality that God exists and works in the life of people like me.  The more the joy flows, the more I feel His strength and need to express this to others.  I stand in awe of His recent work in my life that has now allowed me to express joy to others and has given me contentment where a restless spirit resided!   It has even propelled me to start blogging!  It is my prayer that I would be a reflection of the Lord’s joy and strength, so that others can know and experience the Living God.