Joy is not an emotion. Joy is a choice. Joy is a person. Joy is Jesus!
This past week I have been reflecting on how does one go about getting joy. Then one morning as I woke up, it was there before me as a gift. One can attain joy only by being in His Presence...that's it!
Nehemiah said, "the joy of the Lord is my strength." He didn't say his joy was his strength. He didn't say Ezra's joy was his strength. He said, "the joy of the Lord is my strength." Well, the only way that I am going to know about the joy of the Lord is by allowing Him to show me, but in order for that to truly happen, I must push everything else to the side and just be with Him. Nehemiah's strength was in the joy of the Lord. It was the Lord's joy that Nehemiah was able to do what he did. In fact, it was the joy of the Lord that allowed Paul to suffer in prison for the advancement of the Gospel (Philippians 1). It was the joy of the Lord that allowed an innocent Jesus to die on the Cross for my sins and for your sins. Jeremiah found the Word of God and chewed on it and it became his joy. But these individuals knew the joy of the Lord by BEING with the Lord...by BEING in His Presence!
So I got to thinking, if I spent more time with Him and less time with the things of the world, my joy in Him will also increase, but I've GOT TO WANT IT. So I have been praying for God to give me the desires of my heart around being in His Presence more. And boy has He been showing me glimpses of people who have found it.
First of all, Nehemiah. When Nehemiah learned about what was happening in Jerusalem, he wept, fasted, and prayed for 4 months. (Nehemiah 1-2). He sought to be in the Presence of the Lord and to listen to His heart! Even in the midst of the calamity that Jerusalem face (his people), Nehemiah's joy came from the Lord. It came because Nehemiah set aside chaos and was with Jesus.
Secondly, David. I have been soaking on Psalm 119 a lot lately. David's joy was from being in God's Word. He uses the word joy 5x in regards to God's Word in Psalm 119. I love v.111 - "I have your decrees as a heritage forever; indeed, they are the joy of my heart." And since his joy came from the Word of the Lord, he kept going back to it more and more. I love that. Pause real quick and just ask the question to yourself...what is the joy of my heart?
Third, Jeremiah. I really don't know what to say about this guy. I have read Jeremiah 20 a few times over the last few days because I can sense his frustration of both people not listening to God's Word and the persecution he has received for teaching God's Word. Yet, you can't touch his joy. Jeremiah 15:16 - "your Words were found, and I ate them. Your Words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart." There it is again. Joy and God's Word/Presence. And even in the midst of persecution he says he can't stay quiet because joy is a fire in His bones. When the joy of the Lord is in us, we can't stay quiet, it is impossible. Jeremiah went looking for it. Am I looking for Him? Once Jeremiah found Him, he devoured Him. Am I devouring Him? Jeremiah was bent (delighted) toward God's Word and God's Presence was bent (delighted) toward Jeremiah. I want that! Do you? Go searching.
Fourth, my dear friend Paul. I have already mentioned him earlier. He wrote a book on joy from prison. I am not going to elaborate on this except to say that he wrote a book on joy from prison. Haha. Why? How? His joy was not in circumstances but in a person. Death had no hold on Paul. To be dead is to be with the Lord. To be joyful in crappy circumstance comes from Jesus. Paul learned that to know the power of His resurrection only comes from the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death. (Philippians 3:10). Think on that! Shew.
Lastly, Jesus. The joy set before Him was to endure the Cross, scourning its shame, and being seated at the right hand of the Father. (Hebrews 12) His strength to go to the Cross was the joy of the Lord. And Jesus learned this (Hebrews 5:8) by sitting in His Presence (and suffering)...and He was God in flesh. Wow. So, can you see the journey I have been on just to learn that the "joy of the Lord is my strength!" I am praying that if you read this, that you would come to a place of knowing where true joy comes from. It doesn't come from success. It doesn't come from people. It doesn't come from $. It comes from Jesus and Jesus alone. Choose right now to set aside time each day to sit at your table that He has made for you and allow Him to fill you up with His JOY. Do it right now.
