As committed followers of Christ, we enjoy a unique position. The moment we placed our faith in Jesus, we each became someone we have never been before. Our spiritual heritage changed from a helpless sinner doomed to separation from God, to a child of God with a home in heaven that anxiously awaits our arrival. But that's not all. Through Christ, we were given a relationship with the God of the universe that allows us to wade through and survive every challenge the world can throw at us. We were given a strength that is not of this world. This strength is not based on knowledge, wisdom, or even a spiritual formula. It's not earned by religious ritual or good performance. It is a gift from God that is a by-product of our salvation... it is call "Joy." Nehemiah had the right idea. The strength to weather any storm or crisis is based on drawing on the "Joy of the Lord." In this context, Joy is best described as "Inner peace." God makes available to every believer an inner peace. But we can only draw on it when we choose to surrender our control to Him. The real questions are: Do we believe that God is in control when things are not going well with us? Do we believe that He can and will work out all our circumstances for His glory and our good? When we are allowed to encounter impossible situations, it leads us to a frustration with our own self-effort to fix it. We then have no place to turn but to God. He wants our first reaction to any difficult situation to be to run to Him. Our heavenly Father wants us to need Him. That's what the "joy of the Lord" is about. It is not acting "super spiritual" on the outside, while not letting anyone see you sweat. The "joy of the Lord" is a position and a... read more here
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Larry Bennett (Georgia, USA) is a contributing writer for IOM America - Transformational Biblical Worldview & Exchange Life Development.
Permission obtained from writer to republish The Joy of the Lord. Originally published on blog, Wednesday Devotional (Presenting Christ as Life) on July 9, 2014 at http://wednesdaydevotional.com/2014/07/09/the-joy-of-the-lord/ IOM America's editorial changes to original approved by author.
All Scriptures, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, � Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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