The Joy of the Lord

Good morning.

One of the passages the Lord has given me along the way as I sought His face for my purpose in His Kingdom, I’ve found in Isaiah 50:4: “The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.” At first I thought it could not be for me, since this is part of a prophecy regarding Jesus, but I would’ve been honoured if it was for me. It did, however, confirm a prophecy spoken over my life some years earlier and the Lord does speak to us through any passage in His word that applies, even if it was written in another context originally. Today this is exactly what happens to me. Every morning He wakes me up and every morning He has something for me to tell you.

Last night, however, I was very tired after a long, hard day and prepared to wake up much later, having in mind that, should I wake up later, I would just place a piece of scripture. The Lord did kindly wake me up a half hour later than usual this morning, which would not allow me enough time to write a full teaching, but on my heart was an interesting thought. In preparation for our next topic, which He already gave me, I would take a few verses from the Bible as the Holy Spirit gives them and open them up until we run out of time.

Nehemiah 8:10: “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

This is a passage we hear lots of times. The joy of the Lord is our strength. We usually see it that if we're full of the Lord's joy, we feel strong, but how about this? If a son pleases a dad, the dad happily blesses him. If he grieves his dad, his dad has to discipline him. If the Lord is full of joy because of the obedience of His people, it’s easier for Him to bless us and give us what we desire. In the context of Nehemiah, the wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt after Israel had returned from the Babylon captivity and everything was hunky-dory. They worshiped the Lord again and had all kinds of festivities. I can just imagine how pleased the Lord was to have His people around Him again, worshiping Him and enjoying His presence.

A passage that has a similar meaning we find in John 14:21: “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” This passage says to me that if we make the Lord happy by obeying Him, He will love us even more and will then trust us enough to reveal to us what He’s like.

In Psalm 37:4 we read: “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” If we enjoy the Lord, He knows where our hearts are and will then kindly put in our hearts His desires and then fulfil them.

It’s worth pleasing the Lord because, as we see in many Bible passages and through the lives of men, He does give special favours to those who make serious business with Him. I’ve seen it in my own live. Even though I had a call on my life, I had to first get rid of those idols that took the Lord’s place before He poured out His love in abundance in the form of anointing and revealed Himself.

How about you?

Lord, I’d like to increase your joy through my obedience.

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