THE JOY OF THE LORD
Nehemiah
8:10
10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat
the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is
prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the
LORD is your strength."
We hear many sermons today about the joy of the Lord.
Most of the time, we are taught that joy has to do with the way we feel.
We are told that if we will just act happy then we will receive strength,
and people use Nehemiah 8:10, “for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
But what is the joy of the Lord?
Many times we get happiness and joy confused.
Happiness is a feeling, and one that can come quickly or leave quickly,
because it is just a physical feeling. You
can be happy with someone one minute and that can change the next minute
depending on circumstances.
But joy is more than a feeling, it’s a knowing that everything is good.
It’s contentment and peace regardless of circumstances.
When everything looks bad your spirit is at rest, that’s joy.
The next step is how do we get this “joy of the Lord”?
If we will just look at Nehemiah
8:10
it tells us very clearly. The first
thing Nehemiah tells us is to “eat the fat and drink the sweet.”
What does that mean? It means
to enjoy the things the Lord has given you.
Christians today are a complaining bunch of people.
It seems like they are never satisfied, nothing is ever right, and they
never have enough. It’s not
wrong to want to improve your circumstances, but maybe the way to do that is to
thank God for what we have, and enjoy that.
Then Nehemiah tells us something more, “send
portions to those for whom nothing is prepared.”
What does this mean? Simply
stated, we are to share what we have with those who have not.
MISSIONS, WIDOWS, THE POOR!!!! Most
Christians and most Churches for that matter have fallen into the worldly
attitude, it’s all about us, “what is good for me or my church”. It seems
we have lost sight of the needs of a world full of people.
People that our Savior Jesus Christ gave everything for.
We say we are Christians, Christ like, but are we willing to be like Christ.
When it comes to costing us something we want to back off and make
excuses why we can’t. When it
comes to our having to give up something we want for the needs of others, we
close our hearts and pocketbooks, with the hope someone else will do it.
We like to build our new buildings to show how special we are and at the
same time people a short distance away are living in misery due to lack.
We see the needs of the thousands, but we are not willing to give up our fishes
and loaves of bread. Let someone
else do it.
Is it any wonder that the Church, the Body of Christ, the
Glorious
Church
has so many people in it that never have any joy.
NO JOY NO STRENGTH. Most churches are the sadist place you could go on
Sunday morning. Because we have lost
the concept that Nehemiah spoke of. Enjoy
and be thankful for what God has given you and give, share what you have been
blessed with.
THE JOY OF THE
LORD COMES TO A THANKFUL, GIVING HEART.
