Nehemiah 8:10 ...the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
How does that be a possibility. Because the concept of strength is understood to be something that holds power or capacity to withstand some amount of force or pressure.
When life encounters us with its tempestuous storms of temptations and human suffering everything that holds one's faith in God up seems shattering. In a situation like that if something that can continue to fuel believer's faith and trust in God is nothing but the Joy. Because happiness depends on happenings but joy comes from the Lord. For instance, gaining good marks will give you happiness for sometime. Such happiness are not only temporary but dependent on happenings around us; basically material in nature. It comes and goes.
That's why if one owns the whole world and has not owned faith in God it renders him/her nothing but sadness and loneliness. Similarity if one owns nothing that is worldly in nature but knows God possess joy that is unmatched.
And this joy doesn't leave a believer at any given moment of his/her life on this earth. Which is, in fact, works as a fuel to ignite the engine of faith in God to carry on amidst adversity.
Psalmist prays "restore unto me the joy of salvation" 51:12
In John 15:11, Jesus says: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” The joy you are to have as a Christian is the joy of Jesus.
This verse tells us three things about the JOY;
1. Cause of Joy- Jesus Christ, the source of all good
2. Consistency of Joy- Remain in You, everlasting
3. Capacity of Joy- Full, you need nothing
The joy of Jesus is not a joy that comes and goes; it is constant. Jesus says, “that this joy will remain in you.” We will all have sorrow at times, but the Bible says in Isaiah 61:3 that God gives us the oil of joy for mourning. That means in the time of mourning, in the time of brokenheartedness, God pours in the oil of His joy.
Unless you have joy in Jesus, your joy is not full. What is the secret to finding this joy? Jesus said He spoke “these things that your joy may be full."
This joy is of twofold understanding;
First, the joy of knowing God as someone who not only loves you supremely but wants to keep unending relationship. Second, understanding of death as something which is not an end but the beginning of real fun. So human suffering not only becomes temporary but begins to fad away in the light of eternity. That's why even the most cruel form of persecution doesn't stop or even terrorise believers.
John 16:20-22"Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy...therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you."
So despite the heavy storms of life the relationship with God and the knowledge of salvation combined unleashes the joy that helps us continue our journey of faith on this ever fading painful world.
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