For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b, NASB

The joy of the Lord is my strength. Have you ever wondered about this verse? I’ve often thought about it and felt a little bit like I wasn’t doing something right. I’m sorry to say, but when life is hard, I don’t feel happy.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever asked yourself the question, “I wonder what I’m doing wrong?” Me, too.

It’s taken a long time, but in all my wrestling around with trying to find the joy of the Lord, I’ve realized there are quite a few things that hold me back. They are concepts about joy and happiness that I’ve struggled to make sense of.  Understanding them (or not) makes a big difference. Take a look at my list of these concepts and see what you think. 

The Joy List

• Joy and happiness are not the same things.
• Joy is a spiritual practice. Happiness is a human emotion.
• Happiness depends on our external circumstances. Joy is a thing of its own. It does not depend on what is happening around us.
• Happiness requires things to go our way. Joy can be found even if they don’t.
• Being joyful does not necessarily mean you feel happy. You can feel joy even when you are sad or burdened by trials and troubles.
• Joy does not look like what I thought it should look like. It doesn’t feel like what I expected, either.
• Joy is always present, but the awareness of it can come and go. And that’s OK. The fact that I’m not focused on joy or I can’t “feel” it like I thought I should does not mean it’s not there.

Joy does not look like what I thought it should look like. It doesn’t feel like what I expected, either. #joyofthelord #strength #journeytoimperfect Click To Tweet

Joy Vs Happiness

I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but when I equated joy to feeling happy, it was just a fleeting thing. Feeling happy was too often tied to how things were going in my life. When things were easy, and life was going well, I felt happy and “joyful.” But when I faced difficulties and didn’t feel happy at all, I would become very discouraged because my joy was nowhere to be found. I’m a girl who loves Jesus, for heaven’s sake! I knew that in following Him, I should have joy. But boy oh boy, I just couldn’t feel it when life got hard.

Do you see where that left me? I was standing right in the middle of something hard which brought enough roller-coaster emotions of its own, and on top of that, I was thinking to myself, “Where’s my joy? What am I doing wrong?” 

But over time I realized something. I was expecting to feel happy when I experienced joy. Essentially “joy” and “happiness” were the same thing in my mind. But I finally realized that joy looks a whole lot more like “trust,” “rest,” and “peace” than happiness. It’s more about “being” than it is about “feeling.” And  experiencing joy had a whole lot to do with how often I was returning to Jesus.

Joy looks a whole lot more like “trust,” “rest,” and “peace” than happiness. #joyoftheLord #strength #journeytoimperfect Click To Tweet

An Unexpected Connection

For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b, NASB

For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b, NASB Click To Tweet

I studied that verse in Nehemiah and looked up the Hebrew root word for “joy.” I found that it is only used in this same way in one other verse in the Bible (1 Chronicles 16:27). So I compared those two verses and both verses referred to strength. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength. Chronicles 16:27 says that strength and joy are found “in His place.”

It dawned on me that I should take a look at the connection between strength and joy, so I looked up the root words for strength in these two verses and here’s what I found.

Strength in these two verses refers to the kind of strength that comes from the Lord, and it looks like this:

• a near and ready stronghold
• a place of immediate and sufficient shelter
• strength which fiercely holds its ground
• like a stronghold with fortified towers
• fierce strength that will not be sent away or ignored
• able to defend without budging position
• associated with fierce determination and force to retain what has already been claimed

Now, let’s think just a minute here. If we could find a strength like that to help us through what we are going through today, would we feel joy? I’d say so! This kind of strength fights for us with fierce determination when we face the unknown or find ourselves at the end of one more trying day. This kind of stronghold is a place of true rest where we’ll find protection while the Lord defends us. And Jesus is holding the gates wide open and inviting us to come inside!

Jesus is holding the gates wide open and inviting us to come inside! Click To Tweet

In this place, we can watch as God fights for us, (Exodus 14:14) and we see Him holding with fierce determination what has already been claimed for us. We know that in all things, Jesus has given us the victory through His death on the cross. This should bring us relief and joy, and this kind of joy feels a whole lot more like “trust” “comfort” and “peace” “protection” to me. How about to you?

 

Perspective

What if we changed our perspective on what to look for when we are seeking joy? What if we remember how God defends us as we walk through difficult situations, and what if we take extra time to rest with Jesus and allow Him to carry our burdens?

If we can do this, we can experience joy in spite of our circumstances. Sometimes it’s all about understanding what we are looking for. Joy is different but in a very good way.

In the next post, we’ll look at practical ways to keep joy alive in our lives. I hope you’ll join me next time. Until then, I think the verse below sums things up quite well.  Many answers can be found inside the words of this verse.

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. – Isaiah 30:15, NKJV

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. - Isaiah 30:15, NKJV Click To Tweet

Blessings,

 

Perfectionism in Focus

There’s no doubt about it, perfectionism robs a person of joy. When we struggle with perfectionism, we might find ourselves fearful of moving ahead, taking challenges, and living boldly. It’s uncomfortable for anyone who struggles with perfectionism to live boldly because it involves stepping out of our comfort zones, learning new things, and taking risks. When we let fear get the best of us, we’ve just killed joy. Essentially, we are allowing Satan’s lies (that’s what feeds fear) stop us from doing what God would have us to do. When we give in to the fear of moving ahead instead of relying on the power of the Holy Spirit in us to do the work God has for us to do, we are not living the abundant life. This is going to rob us of our joy, and it also robs others who need the things God has to give away through us.

I’ll be honest. I struggle with this. Still. Even after being brave and taking the next step! If you have the same feelings, you are not alone. The solutions are multi-faceted and different for each individual.  Ask for wisdom and discernment, and the Lord will give it to you. Read Proverbs 3:5-8. We can be assured that the Lord has wisdom stored up for us and will guard our paths and show us the way to move forward and live abundantly! 

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, We thank You for being out defender! You protect us fiercely, never letting us go. You send Jesus to walk by our side. Help us, Lord, to understand joy, to live life abundantly, to reaching out to others, and to take the next steps so that we can move forward into your callings.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

*The definitions in this article were sourced from The Discovery Bible HELPS Word-studies, Gary Hill, 2017. You can find out more about The Discovery Bible by going to their website.

The post Are You Looking for the Joy of the Lord? first appeared at www.journeytoimperfect.com.

*This post may be linked in the following places. Click through to find more hope and encouragement!  Tea And Word Tuesdays / Cheerleaders of Faith /  Coffee for Your Heart / Sitting Among Friends / Moments of Hope / Salt and Light / Heart Encouragement Thursday / Tune in Thursdays / Counting My Blessings / Grace and Truth