"THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH"

Neh. 8:10

We have all heard this scripture in times of weakness. We tell ourselves or someone else will tell us, "the joy of the Lord is your strength." Well, we don't have any joy at that moment and we definitely don't feel strong. So, thinking we aren't supposed to be like this, we try to have joy and be strong.

Sometimes one word can change the meaning of a verse. For the first time, I noticed the word "of". It's the joy of the Lord, not the joy of Connie. I think, I have always thought of it as my joy in the Lord. Joy in the Lord is something I feel.

Everything of God is Truth..it is substance..not a feeling. Just as Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

God has given us His substance to replace our feelings. Feelings are always conditional..God's Truth is unconditional. It's His Joy that gives me strength. My joy only brings feelings. His joy never fails...mine will. His joy is Truth, no matter how I feel...my joy depends on how I feel. His joy is there when I have none. If you've ever noticed, when you feel joy, you feel strong but when you don't feel joy, you feel weak.

What a relief..I don't have to force myself to have joy so that I can be strong. We try within ourselves to manufacture something that belongs to God.

Exodus 3:14 God says, "I AM"......
Hebrews 11:6 says, "he that cometh to God must believe that HE IS"

We are human, so we are going to feel!! We just have to remember feelings come and go. Sometimes we will feel good but sometimes we won't. It gives me joy, yes the feeling of joy, knowing that even when my joy seems to be gone...I can be confident that GOD'S IS STILL THERE. I don't have to stress myself trying to get my joy back because my joy wasn't my strength anyway.


I can just relax and do as Psalm 46:10 says......

"BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD"


Connie

Comments

  1. StanApril 25, 2010 at 7:22 PM

    Wow!!! That could not be said any more clear. God is all we need. Not our emotion, only His truth. That does not mean, as you said, we won't have emotion, it only means we can't change the SUBSTANCE of God with our emotion. It always stays the same. Thank you Holy Spirit for using Connie to let us hear that truth. Emotions are only emotion, but His substance is the truth and it's forever and always.

    I love you,

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brenda Lazzaro Yoder,April 27, 2010 at 9:20 AM

    Thank you SO much for this deeper reminder and encouragement from what you posted on my blog. It resonates with me very much - in the world I have been in that is all about emotions (graduate school), I love your reminder that He is what guides are hearts, and that emotions can betray us. Joy, God's Joy, never will. Thank you Connie!

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