We cannot imagine how difficult it was for the exiles (who had been in Babylon for 70 years) to return home to Jerusalem to see their city reduced to rubble. But that’s exactly what they found. The Temple was demolished and the wall surrounding their city was a heap of stones. A city that was once alive was now dead. Then Nehemiah arrives on the scene with one goal… to rebuild the wall. So, the people came together to rebuild. But it wasn’t easy. They came up against lots of obstacles, ridicule from the neighbors, and physical hardships. In the midst of this, Nehemiah said to the people: “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). In other words, you can remain strong, vigilant, and positive in the midst of all these struggles because you have what others don’t have… the JOY OF THE LORD.
As New Testament believers, we have been given the same gift… JOY. Joy is different than happiness. Happiness is an exuberance that is based on the good circumstances in our life. Joy, on the other hand, is an inward contentment, satisfaction, and hope that will keep us strong in the worst of situations. Joy is like a pillar, an anchor, that holds us up and keeps us from falling when difficulties come. Joy is literally our STRENGTH when we feel like giving up. Joy will carry us through this life all the way into our eternal home.
With that said, it’s worth a moment of our time to unpack joy. Here are two important things…
Joy is rooted in Christ! Nehemiah called it the JOY OF THE LORD! When speaking to the Philippians, Paul said, “Always be full of joy IN THE LORD” (Philippians 4:4). Unbelievers can NEVER know joy because they are not a part of His family. But believers have been given this incredible gift. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20: “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding YES!” That means that the promise of joy is rooted in Jesus.
Therefore, in order to have fullness of joy, it goes back to John 15, the allegory of the Vine and the branches. The True Vine (Jesus) gives all the nourishment to the branches (believers). But in order to be nourished with everything the Vine offers (including joy), we need to stay connected. Connected when things are going well and when things are not going well. Don’t ever loosen that grip.
Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit! Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: “Love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” So, in order to live with the fruit of the Spirit, we need to constantly seek to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit. We were already baptized in the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation, but throughout the book of Acts, we notice that there were multiple fillings. We are filled with the Holy Spirit the more we seek after Jesus and let His Word pour over us, always striving for obedience.
It’s important to note that what we think about is synonymous with joy. In the context of Paul’s message on joy in Philippians, he goes on to say that we should “Fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8).
Here’s the thing… joy is a beautiful and powerful gift and something we CAN have in our life. Joy really is our strength. So, let’s strive for it now so that when things go south, we will have an inner peace and contentment that will carry us through it.