THE JOY OF THE LORD
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Our God is so gracious and kind; think about what we just read! The children of Israel were in sadness, weeping because they hadn’t quite obeyed God. But while they were weeping and repenting, the Lord said to them, “Go and celebrate, for this day which you’ve assembled to hear my Word is holy; don’t be sorry, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Hallelujah!
The eleventh and twelfth verses say, “So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions….” Now, it’s not about the eating and the drinking, for the Bible says, “…the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17). It’s about the joy you have in Him through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we’ve now received the atonement (Romans 5:11).
In Nehemiah 12:43, when they had built the walls of Jerusalem and it was time for them to celebrate, the Bible says, “Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.” Wow! 1 Peter 1:8 calls our joy “indescribable and full of glory.” Their joy was heard afar off! They were exuberant with joy and rejoicing.
In spite of the terrible things happening in the world today, you can be full of joy every day and express it lavishly. Celebrate the Lord—His greatness, goodness, love, grace and mercies—every day, like you’ve never done before. Give no place to gloom in your life. Joy is a fruit of your recreated human spirit; so, always release it from within you. Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). Glory to God!
JOY FROM WITHIN
Some people never laugh unless they’re listening to some jokes by a comedian. A comedian may say or do some funny things to make you laugh, but all that is transient; true joy is inside you. Having received the Holy Spirit, God expects you to generate joy and excitement from within.
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Always learn to release joy from inside you. Never allow anything take away your joy. Our opening verse says, “…the joy of the LORD is your strength.”It’s not talking about the joy you get when you receive some good news or when something you’ve been expecting pulls through for you; no, it’s the joy of the Lord! That joy comes from the Holy Ghost; it comes from the Word. And you’ve got to express it because as you do, the power is released and your challenges bow.
Every time, and in every place where the Holy Spirit manifests Himself, there’s always a great joy. And where there’s joy, it’s difficult for Satan to penetrate. This is why when Satan wants to destroy a family, one of the things he does first is to destroy their joy.
Everybody becomes sad, angry, long-faced, and frustrated. Even the children return from school looking sad and gloomy. Therefore, because there’s no joy in the home, the devil can take over. So, never give him a place in your home, for whatever reason.
In the midst of trouble, in the midst of dire challenges, release joy from within. As you do, the challenges will crumble before you; the tumor will pass out of your body; the debts will be settled supernaturally! This is the reason the Bible says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2). If you’ve lost your joy to circumstances of life, it’s time to take it back. Stir it up from within. Glory to God
BE JOYFUL AT ALL TIMES
Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3).
Joy is an emotion evoked by satisfaction, appreciation and pleasure. God was joyful when He created the earth; He appreciated what He made, and took pleasure in it: “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31).
The joy you have is not of this world, but of God, therefore it’s independent and non-reliant on external circumstances. 1 Peter 1:8 describes it as “…joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Everywhere Jesus went, during His earthly walk, He brought joy to people, and He still does today. Having been born again, we’ve been brought into the life of unending joy. The Bible says in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
The joy that comes from the inner man transcends physical circumstances; it’s permanent and will keep you strong and alive. The Bible says “A merry heart doeth good like medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). Learn to be joyful and maintain a happy spirit always. Joy is a feature of the recreated human spirit (Galatians 5:22), and it’s the nature of the recreated human spirit to be joyful at all times.
You can generate spiritual joy from your spirit by making melodies and singing new songs of joy from your spirit unto the Lord. The Lord delights to hear your joyful praise. Nehemiah 8:10 says “…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” God needs you to be joyful so you can transfer that same joy to your environment. You cannot make others joyful, unless you’re joyful yourself.
Maintain a joyful attitude today and always, as your joyful and happy spirit dictates everything about your life: “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3); how instructive! It means you have to be joyful to experience the benefits of your salvation; you unwrap all the great and glorious blessings embedded in the salvation package through joy.
REJOICE NOW AND ALWAYS
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
As God’s children, He expects us to always live happy and joyous lives. That’s why He instructs us to “rejoice” in the Lord, no matter what happens around us. Notice that the word “rejoice” was repeated twice in the opening scripture; that shows just how important it is to the Lord that we express joy from our spirits.
“What if there’s nothing to rejoice about?” you may ask. Well, rejoice all the same! Understand that the condition of your spirit dictates what goes on around you. If you’re unhappy, everything around you would be gloomy and sad. And that situation wouldn’t change until you change the condition of your mind. Therefore, you have to make up your mind to maintain a joyful spirit even in the midst of discouraging and difficult circumstances, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Understand that the devil (and all that he represents—sin, sickness, poverty, failure, death, etc.) has been defeated; so nothing he throws at you can stand against you successfully! The Bible says, Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy (1 Peter 1:8 AMPC).
Refuse to allow anything make you sad; practice ‘laughing sessions.’ Don’t wait for a comedian to make you laugh; draw joy from your spirit, and rejoice each day of the beautiful life God has given you.
YOUR SET TIME TO LAUGH
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision (Psalm 2:4).
Sadness, Sorrow and regret are inconsistent with the Life that God has given to you in Christ. You were born into a life of unending joy, victory and advantage, thus laughter ought to be an integral part of your daily routine. People who don't laugh are usually weighed down by the cares of this world. They believe life is "serious business" and as such, they hardly find any reason to smile, let alone laugh. But laughter is therapeutic as well as spiritual.
That's why the Bible declares that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones" (Proverbs 17:22). Why wouldn't you laugh when you know that you're more than a conqueror? Why shouldn't you laugh when you know that all things work together for your good?
It doesn't matter what comes against you in life, learn to laugh your way to victory. Refuse to allow circumstances to dictate your happiness. The opening Scripture shows us that God laughs at the rantings of His enemies. Like your heavenly Father, learn to laugh the enemy to scorn when he starts throwing his tantrums at you. When tough times come, that's the time to laugh, for there's absolutely nothing the enemy could do to harm you.
No wonder Apostle James admonished that you ''count it all joy when you go through diverse tests"(James 1:2). If you've been facing trying times, I recommend to you ''laughing sessions." Sit all by yourself and meditate on the victorious life Christ has brought you into and begin to laugh! At first, you might even look ridiculous to yourself, but keep at it. It won't be long before the anointing comes on you, and you'll find yourself declaring the Word of God that'll change things.
Refuse to allow the circumstances of life to control your happiness; it's your set time to laugh your way to victory.
UNENDING JOY
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3 NIV)
From the moment you were born again, you were brought into a life of unending joy. The Bible says in Romans 14: 17, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Joy is an emotion evoked by satisfaction, appreciation and pleasure. God was joyful when He created the earth; He appreciated what He made and took pleasure in it (Genesis 1:31).
The joy you have is not of this world, but of God; therefore it's independent of external circumstances. I Peter 1:8 describes it as "...joy unspeakable and full of glory." Everywhere Jesus went during His earthly walk, He brought joy to people, and He still does today. The joy that comes from your inner man (your spirit) transcends physical circumstances; it's permanent, and it'll keep you strong and healthy. The Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones" (Proverbs 17:22 KJV).
Learn to be joyful and maintain a happy spirit always. Joy is a fruit of the recreated human spirit (Galatians 5:22), so you can be joyful at all times. Produce joy from your spirit by making melodies and singing new songs from your heart to the Lord. The Lord delights to hear your joyful praise. Nehemiah 8:10 says, "...for the joy of the LORD is your strength." God needs you to be joyful so you can transfer that same joy to your environment, for you can't make others joyful until you're full of joy yourself.
JOY HAS EXPRESSIONS!
For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city (Acts 8:7-8).
Our opening text is an account of events in Samaria when Philip, the evangelist, preached Christ in the city. The power of God’s Word prevailed mightily, such that
many were healed and set free from demons. The result was that the city erupted in joy. The Bible specifically records that there was great joy in that city.
How do you know that someone is joyful? Through their expressions! Joy has expressions. Laughter is an expression of joy. Praising God—being exultant and exuberant with praise to Him—is an expression of joy. Singing songs of praise in thanksgiving is an expression of joy. The Bible says, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13). Express your joy in the Lord.
Joy is one of the fruits of the recreated human spirit (Galatians 5:22); therefore, your joy as a child of God should be independent of circumstances. It shouldn’t be based on what’s happening to you or around you; it shouldn’t have anything to do with what others say or do to you. You can be joyful in the midst of trouble.
Paul and Silas were cast into prison, persecuted for preaching the Gospel. Nevertheless, “At midnight,” (it doesn’t get darker than it gets at midnight), they prayed and sang praises to God, and the other prisoners heard them (Acts 16:25).
They expressed their joy, and the result was a supernatural jailbreak. God shook up the prison, broke their bands and flung the gates open. They remained joyful in
adversity, and gave expression to their joy.
You must learn to give expression to your joy. Always be cheerful and exuberant with praise, knowing that it takes a joyful and happy person to make others joyful and happy. If you’re not joyful, you can’t effectively preach the Gospel and win others to Christ.
EXPRESS JOY
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms (James 5:13).
Imagine that someone got the news that a kind person left him an estate worth a hundred million dollars; how do you think he’d receive the news? I’m most certain he won’t receive it with a listless “Thank you.” He’ll express much joy for what he received. Likewise, when you pray about a situation, maybe a health condition, and you believe God answered you, act like it. Express joy!
There have been people who received healing or other miracles in a meeting, and just as they turned to leave the venue, everything returned to what it was before. They lost the healing. Their healing was a sign; God had given them attention, and got their attention, but expected them to further act their faith. He wanted them to rejoice, testify, and be glad about what already happened, and thus keep their miracle, but they didn’t.
Many people don’t know that their expressions are a message. Faith is expressed in words and in actions. If your words and actions don’t demonstrate your faith, then there’s no faith. Every time people received something from the Lord in the Bible, they demonstrated it in their joy, and their blessing was sustained. Some actually received more as a result of their joyful testimonies and gratitude; an example is the leper in Luke 17:11-19.
The Bible says faith without works—corresponding action—is dead. If you accept what God has said about you, you’ve got to act like it.