November 21, 2024

The Joy of the Lord Is Our Strength

December 16, 2014 by

gchSHadventjoygraphic

Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10b

Joy comes from deep down in the heart. It comes not because you have some good happenings around you. No, it comes whether all is well (or not). The truth that remains in your heart is you have a loving and caring Father who will take care of all issues.

This declaration of God’s Word accompanied by sincere desire to follow its instruction will result in a true heartfelt joy. This joy of the Lord is based on reconciliation with God and the presence of the Spirit in our lives. This joy is for everyone and we can only attain this joy when we are in His Presence.

This joy is promised to us by our God:

For his anger lasts only a moment but his favour lasts a lifetime, weeping may remain for a night but rejoicing <joy> comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
Psalms 126:5 -6

I will clothe her priest with salvation and her saints shall ever sing for joy.
Psalm 132:16

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation…
Isaiah 12:3

…And the ransomed of the Lord will return, they will enter Zion with singing
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 35:10

We thank God for the many promises that follow us by being in His Presence where fullness of joy is found. I choose therefore to remain in His Presence to benefit all the promises written. I pray you choose this also for in His Presence there is, indeed, fullness of joy.

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Lord God, King of glory, blessed be Your Holy Name! How excellent is Your Name in all the earth. Clothed with righteousness, honor and majesty…we bless You. Thank You for Your promises to us which are Yes and Amen. Thank You for allowing us to be co-heirs with Christ Jesus that this fullness of joy should be our inheritance. Thank You for loving us this much. We adore You, Abba Father. By Your grace, Lord, sustain us in Your Presence all the time…in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Joy of the Lord

February 28, 2014 by

SeekingHimLogo

Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!
Nehemiah 8:10

Joy can be found in the Lord’s Word.  Simply put—if you want it, it can easily be found.  Joy is most certainly NOT a scarce commodity for the Lord.  The sanctuary of the Lord sounds like a safe place to me…it IS safe!  It sounds peaceful…it IS peaceful!

Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.
The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live
in the House of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His Temple.
For He will conceal me there when troubles come;
He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.
At His sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
Psalms 27:3-6

My favorite part of this passage is that “He will hide me in His sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.”  How quickly I forget that my battles are not my own. Never were my battles intended to be my own.  The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has more than enough capability to handle all the battles that could possibly come my way.  Heaven’s Army sounds pretty big to me—it sounds pretty capable of taking care of ALL battles.

For the Lord God is our Sun and our Shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in You.
Psalms 84:11-12

Trusting in the Lord brings joy.  His word says that He will ‘withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.’  His joy is a good thing and I’m thankful that He doesn’t withhold it.

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Dear Lord, how awesome You are!  Thank You for the gift of Your joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

You Are

January 10, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

  ~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

When I can’t find the words to say how much it hurts
You are the healing in my heart
When all that I can see are broken memories
You are the light that’s in the dark

You are the song, You are the song I’m singing
You are the air, You are the air I breathe in
You are the hope, You are the hope I’m needin’…You are

And when my circumstance leaves me with empty hands
You’re the Provider of my needs
When all my dirtiness has left me helpless
You are the rain that washes me

If I had no voice, if I had no tongue—I would dance for You like the rising sun
And when that day comes and I see Your face
I will shout Your endless, glorious praise

 

~  written and performed by Colton Dixon  ~

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He is my Healer, my Hope…the rain that washes me. He is the song that I am singing. What about you, dear sister? Is HE your everything? Even in the rain, is He your hope?

I love this song. Because even when I am hurting, and my circumstances are difficult, and the dirtiness of my past has left me helpess…He IS and WAS my Hope, My Healer from the pain.

Even in the most difficult of circumstances He is the song I am singing. God showed me this verse in one of the most difficult of circumstances in my life.

And be not grieved and depressed,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
Nehemiah 8:10 AMP

You see, my son was going through a sleep disorder at the time that caused him to have seizures while he was sleeping. We walked through this for about 7 months before he was completely healed from it. That was one of the most difficult walks I have had thus far with God. But joy was possible because it was found in Him. I watched God use that situation with my son for Good over and over again. If I was focused on my circumstances, I would slowly feel my joy being drained from me as well as my strength. But when I focused on God—my joy in Him began to return and the peace that surpasses all understanding began to wash over me! And He would remind me that I was ok. It was then that I would regain my strength.

I got to thinking about this verse, “…the joy of the Lord is my strength and stronghold…” How do I find joy in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances? The answer is found IN THE LORD! Joy and happiness are two different things. Happiness is a feeling and is dependent on circumstances.  Joy is only found in the Lord and is NOT dependent on my circumstances. So even in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances, I hang onto my joy because if I let my joy be stolen… there goes my strength. And in Romans 8:28 God reminds us that He causes “all things to work together for good to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purpose.”  So be encouraged, dear sister, that even in the hardest of situations joy and peace in the Lord is possible…but it is ONLY found in HIM!!!

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Heavenly Father, I pray this day for each and every one of my sisters  that may be struggling to find the joy in You in their difficult circumstances. I pray that they would get their eyes focused back on You and that they would be encouraged that You will use it for their good and for Your glory; in Jesus’ name. Amen!!

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Interested in joining us for our next Online Bible Study that starts on January 13, 2014?   Click HERE for more details!

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,