Joy

This morning I'm thinking about joy:

"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4 - Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

Sounds pretty good, right? How about this one?

"My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need." (James 1:2-4 NCV)

Hmmm, how likely am I to live up to that one? When I have many troubles I should be full of joy because it will give me patience??? My first thought is - I'm not sure I WANT patience that badly! :-) And yet look at that promise. If I let patience show itself perfectly in what I do, I will be perfect and complete and will have everything I need! Wow, what a promise! It's certainly worth developing patience for isn't it?

As I was looking at verses about joy, I came across this story in Nehemiah:

"All the people of Israel gathered to gether in the square by the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the teacher to bring out the Book of the Teachings of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought out the Teachings for the crowd. Men, women, and all who could listen and understand had gathered. At the square by the Water Gate Ezra read the Teachings out loud from early morning until noon to the men, women, and everyone who could listen and understand. All the people listened carefully to the Book of the Teachings. Ezra the teacher stood on a high wooden platform that had been built just for this time. On his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. And on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in full view of everyone, because he was above them. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. These Levites explained the Teachings to the people as they stood there: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. They read from the Book of the Teachings of God and explained what it meant so the people understood what was being read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who were teaching said to all the people, "This is a holy day to the Lord your God. Don't be sad or cry." All the people had been crying as they listened to the words of the Teachings. Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy good food and sweet drinks. Send some to people who have none, because today is a holy day to the Lord. Don't be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong." The Levites helped calm the people, saying, "Be quiet, because this is a holy day. Don't be sad." Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send some of their food to others, and to celebrate with great joy. They finally understood what they had been taught." (Nehemiah 8:1-12 NCV)

It sounds to me that as God's teachings were explained the people realized how far from God's way they had strayed and were sad and crying because of it.  That I can understand, but the response of their leaders is unexpected. I think of church leaders I have known and I believe many of them would have been glad the people were feeling convicted of their sin and were so saddened by it. They might even have encouraged them to go home and seriously think about how far they had strayed. But this was not the response the people got from God through their prophets and priests.  Instead they were told to go throw a party! 

This verse in particular stands out to me - "Don't be sad because the joy of the Lord will make you strong."  No matter how far I've missed the mark, God doesn't want me to be sad.  In order to be strong enough to make the changes needed, I need to open to the "joy of the Lord".  What a concept!  And how different from human thinking that wants to see us upset about our mistakes in order to know we are truly sorry for them!  And yet, I am reminded of scientific studies that demonstrate how health and strength are affected by joy and sadness.  And I've seen this in my own life.  I am much stronger and healthier when living in joy.  The joy of the Lord is indeed my strength!  And I love that last verse of the passage!  It says they went and did as they were told, celebrating with great joy, and it ends with these words: "They finally understood what they'd been taught."  Wow!

Father, today, I choose to celebrate with joy. You are an amazing God - so understanding and forgiving! And I choose to trust you and believe that as I focus on joy, you will strengthen me - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually - and I am so grateful!  Your burden on me is so light I feel as though I can just float through the air!  Thank you, Father, for your love and your generous spirit.  May I be an open channel for that love!