July 16

In Nehemiah 8:10 we are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength. How wonderful of our God to fortify us with something that brings us such delight! He did not say that our unswerving faith is our strength or that our resolute determination to follow Him is our strength. He said His joy would be our strength. His joy.

This conveys a wonderful truth. He is Himself willing to impart to us exactly what we need to face the trials of life and the everyday challenges we face. In Habakkuk 3:18, He reveals again the source of this amazing joy that empowers us. Here the Word tells us, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

There may be times in the lives of believers that there is very little in which to take joy. Plans fail. Hopes are disappointed. Friends betray. Loved ones die. Physical bodies waste away. Life tends to peak at a young age and then wane through the relentless assault of encroaching age. But none of these temporal things are addressed here.

The focus of these most encouraging words is the Lord Himself! If we will take joy in Him—if we will appropriate to ourselves the joy He has promised to give us—that joy will see us through the ’many dangers, toils and snares’ (Amazing Grace) of life and usher us home with the joyous anticipation of beholding Him face to face and rejoicing eternally in the mansion He’s prepared for us!