Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." -Nehemiah 8:10-
When I read that the joy of the Lord is my strength, I was contemplating the difference between joy and happiness. A check in the dictionary shows the results below:
- HAPPINESS is an emotion usually directly related to circumstances that are currently happening.
- JOY is attitude of the heart. It is not necessarily based on something positive happening.
Difference?
Happiness is an emotion and temporary; joy is an attitude of the heart.
I may feel happy because I won $10 million through lottery. However, the excitement of gaining the wealth wears off after I spent it. Even if I were to invest the money instead of spending it, I will be happy again only if I profit in the market.
Joy, on the other hand, brings peace in the middle of a storm. We may go through hard times, disappointments and times of testing, but God works through all these to bring us joy. God is always there to help us with our problems, and through the process we find joy. We can rejoice through these testings because the joy of the Lord makes us strong.
Initially, I find it confusing. The phrase says "the joy of the Lord gives me strength". Does it mean that the Lord is joyful and hence, it gives me strength? How can His joy contribute to my strength? Then I found out that I can view it in another perspective. If I were to seek him in times of my trials, He will be joyful and help me through my difficult times. This is where I gain my strength. (God is good and hence, he will be joyful to help us. It is similar to the positive feeling we get when we help the needy. The needy draws strength from us and we feel contented from helping them.)
Satan tries everything in his power to steal your joy by tempting you with things that will temporarily give you happiness but at the same time drift you away from God.
So... Hold on tight to your joy!
Posts
2 comments:
Hehe.. actually I always thought that it is indeed literally, the JOY of the Lord is my strength. :D
I always think that I praise Him in difficult times, and I know that He will be pleased and happy. And in a certain way, like seeing a love one being happy, knowing that our God is happy with what we do gives us strength. :)
Nevertheless, I think your perspective gives it a more complete meaning. Indeed that when we pray and confide in Him in difficult times, all the more He will help us. Through the joy that springs from within, we can find all the strength we ever need to tide us through difficult times. :)
Post a Comment