Thoughts for another day

January 4, 2011

Today's verse: Neh. 8:10c. for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (KJV)
(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

Scripture today tells us that the joy of the LORD is our strength. 'What is then my strength' is for us the right question to ask. To this end we must do some soul searching even as we arrive at the answer that must satisfy us as to what is the meaning of joy of the LORD, which is my strength.

From the beginning God wanted us to do His bidding which wasn't all that difficult except that we curtail some of our instinctive doings and then gain the benefit of God's hand. These things or laws if one might say, were set into motion to be obeyed by us and they were not that difficult to do. But the evil desire for things that aren't ours and not needed that the devil puts in our path makes it seem they're things which we must possess. What reason did Eve had to be like God? None, for she had all that was required to live a good life but yet she succumbed to the wiles of the devil. Similarly there're many who succumb to the guile of the devil who makes us believe that what's bad for us is actually good and that wanting them is nothing bad - what else can the father of lies say?

And so, we do everything else but that which God wants us to do and hence He doesn't joy in us whereby we don't have the strength to live a fulfilling life. Nehemiah and the others in rebuilding the temple did what was pleasing to God and so He utters the Scripture. One man in the Bible who really delighted in the joy of the Lord although it's not mentioned of him anywhere, is David. He mostly did that which pleased God and was blessed abundantly right from the time he slew Goliath till the time, he thought of building God a temple. Because of the joy of God in Him, David was a man of strength and in his time there was peace and prosperity in the Kingdom. When the joy of the Lord becomes part of a man's nature, He experiences peace and justice and grows rich and prosperous. God's blessings fall upon Him richly and He is able to live a life that is both enriching and at the same time, an example for others.