U139 Joy - a source of strength

Uni-verse 139/10,000 For better through verse
Nehemiah 8 v 10
Then he said to them," Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."


We should not grieve over all our little losses and setbacks in life. Instead, we must celebrate every day of our life by feasting on the Word of God and what pleases the Lord. The Word of God should satisfy our souls even as choice meat and marrow delights our tongue and tastebuds. If we delight in the Word of God and are enthusiastic about obeying His will and purpose for us on this day and consistently follow up on this commitment, then the joy of the Lord will be our strength. In the absence of such day to day consistency, we would be like driftwood being driven in different directions by every change in circumstance or doctrine or teaching.

In sharp contrast, for many in the world, they derive their joy from the source of their strength- it could be their physical prowess, their mental ability, their achievements , their position, their affluence and connections. Such joy is evanescent and temporary for either the source itself gets weakened as the body weakens with age or they fall from position or wealth or influence. But, the joy of the Lord waxes stronger and stronger in our hearts, minds and lives.

As we go our way in our different professions and places of work and stay, the Lord stabilises or anchors our emotions on a joyful plane. The cause for our joy is not external stimuli or our circumstances but it is knowing who owns us and our future for the acroustic "joy" when expanded would read," Jesus owns you." As we know that the One who made Heaven and Earth owns us, we feel a sense of assurance and ever flowing joy flowing from our hearts. An anchor has three hooks. Similarly, we must hook into God's Word with our spirit, mind and body, our attitudes, skills and knowledge, our thoughts, emotions and actions, our imagination,reasoning and memory. The stronger,heavier and thicker the three prongs of the anchor become, the more stable the vessel would be in the rising currents and tides of life.

Prateep V Philip