Christians.. How is the Joy of the Lord your strength?

Question

Ty for taking the time to respond:)

Love in Christ

sandy

Answer 1

Does anyone ever quote Jesus?

Answer 2

Food is my strength.

Answer 3

From the answers, I'm guessing the word "joy" has one of those secret meanings that "believers" are so fond of.  Does the word joy mean misery in greek?

No wait...  it means "less happy than."

Answer 4

When I am going through times, I still have the joy of the Lord.  He is my strength.

Answer 5

I can do everything through Christ who strenghtens me. It is joy to worship Him

Answer 6

Just knowing I can count on Him anytime really gives me strength. Knowing that He will always love me despite my mistakes is so comforting. My God loves everyone equally. He is so special to me and I love Him so.  

Answer 7

Life is what you make of it. Religion is for the weak minded who have nothing else to hold on to.

Answer 8

Morning Sandy,

This is an interesting question and one I asked myself a while back when I had to give a short devotional on Joy in a worship night at my church. Here is what I said:

"Have you ever wondered why joy is so elusive?

Have you ever looked around you and seen that often joy is found in simplicity?

Just take a moment to watch a father playing ball with his son or a Labrador dog chasing and retrieving a stick for his master. Joy is so often found in the simplest of things and the simplest of thoughts.

Joy is not a complex emotion that makes it unattainable to anyone but the brightest amongst us but instead it is often found more consistently in children, in those whose lives have not been complicated with the pressures of life like money or cars; like jobs, responsibilities or tax returns.

Have we forgotten what it means to be simple? To enjoy life’s little pleasures like the warmth of the sun on your back or the beauty of blossom in the spring; like the tender touch of a friend or the smile of a loved one?

The Bible tells in Nehemiah 8:10 us that ‘The joy of the Lord is our strength’. Yet how can we have the joy of the Lord if we don’t remember what joy is?

Paul told the church in Galatia that among other emotions such as love, peace and patience, joy was the fruit of the Spirit and it comes as the overflow of a heart that loves. If we want to be more joyous we must seek to love with a deeper love; a love like that of Christ whose love for God enabled him to rejoice and give thanks for all things.

Joy is found when we take the teachings of Jesus to heart and learn that ‘today has enough worries of its own’; that God ‘holds our destiny in his hands’ so we should ‘not boast of our plans’; that it is ‘God who provides for our every need according to His glorious riches in Christ’; and that just as he ‘provides food for the birds of the air and clothes for the lilies of the field so He will feed and clothe us’.

Yes, the joy, the simple joy of the Lord is our strength. In rejoicing our spirits are lifted up. In rejoicing in God and our place at His banquet we realise that only He can fulfil the deepest needs and desires of our hearts and that brings us freedom in our souls that money, wealth, power, position and possessions cannot buy.

Seek after God. Knock and the door will be opened. Ask and you shall receive and the joy of the Lord and your trust in His provision, protection and promises will strengthen you and enable you to face adversities you thought you could never prevail against. In sufferings and in peace, in plenty and in little, in sickness and in health rejoice in the Lord and the future glory being revealed in you and, as the Lord strengthens you, you will rise on wings of eagles – you will run and not grow weary, you will walk and not faint."

The Joy of the Lord strengthens us when we understand our hope in a world where all things have been restored, a world that only God can bring to pass. We live for it, we hope for it, we long for it with every fabric and fibre of our beings and, together with creation, we groan for it in accordance with the birth pangs of the glory that is being revealed within us. When we know and understand our hope then as we find joy in the Lord and confidence in that hope ("faith is being certain of what we hope for...") then we are strengthened to live a life that is worthy of heaven, that is a better reflection of the life of our Saviour.

May we all truly understand our hope so that we can find joy in our Lord who will one day restore all things and who has purchased us for that glorious hope with the precious sacrifice of his blood!

AMEN!

Answer 9

It is wonderful knowing there is Someone who knows me totally- both my deeds and my thoughts- and loves me anyway! Love in Christ right back atcha!

Answer 10

The joy of the Lord is the joy of the Holy Spirit inside me.  How is it my strength?  It just buoys me up.  When there's something to rejoice about, it just bubbles up and gives strength.  I don't know how it works, it just does.

Answer 11

He is speaking to me like this a great deal lately:

2 Cor 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Answer 12

the lord (god) is a fairy tale..

hmm, i did find joy in fairy tales.. when i was a kid.

makes sense, christianity really is kidstuff ..no chance at maturity indeed.

Answer 13

My strength, my peace of mind comes from knowing that God is in control, and that He loves me.

What is that, if it isn't JOY?

Answer 14

This is not my definition,but I like it:

"Christian joy is no mere gaiety that knows no gloom, but is the result of the triumph of faith over adverse and trying circumstances, which, instead of hindering, actually enhance it"

I believe that both Hope and Joy are inextricably tied to ones faith..Happiness is fleeting and sporadic but Joy is much greater,is not circumstance dependent and is a constant companion and deep welled strength..  

((((Sandy))))..good to see you,sissy...

Answer 15

Well, it's like this. I'll be at work or something and all of a sudden out of nowhere some snafu will come up that means going to a lot of trouble to fix it. Then this verse will come to my mind...

James 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  3  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  4  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Then instead of feeling upset and angry, I feel like laughing, and I say "Ok Lord, thanks for giving me another opportunity to count something as pure joy while you develop patient endurance in my life and make me a little bit more like Jesus."

Answer 16

The joy of the Lord is my strength. Amen. It is a supernatural joy that does not depend on circumstances, but depends on my salvation in Christ.

The apostle Paul exhorted us to rejoice in the Lord always. Why? Because the Lord is at hand. (Philippians 4:4-5) Jesus is coming back soon, and we eagerly await the redemption of our body and be with Him forever. (Romans 8:23)

Jesus also told His disciples, "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20)

Once our salvation is secured in Christ, we have every reason to rejoice, even though our circumstances may not look sunny all the time. This is a good reminder for myself too.

Our salvation is also ongoing, because we are being saved by His grace on a daily basis. "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God... it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." (1 Corinthians 1:18-21) When we hear the message of the cross being preached, we are being saved - made whole, preserved and blessed - by the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the message tells us that Christ has become our wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

The joy of the Lord, therefore, is the joy of our salvation - present and future - in Christ. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness." (Isaiah 61:10)

Habakkuk shared the same revelation that the joy of the Lord depends not on his outward circumstances but on his inner state of being in Christ-consciousness - "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labour of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

So, when my circumstances look dismal, when all around me seems dark and despairing, when religious people say God is angry with the world, though they may be well-meaning, I can look at God's words in the light of the new covenant of grace - the message of the cross - and take comfort and refuge in Christ, who is my light and my salvation. I believe this is the reason why Nehemiah told the people of Israel not to dwell on their past mistakes, but to move on and trust in the Lord's mercies, which are new every morning - "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:11)

God bless you, sister Sandy.

Answer 17

Its when there is no question that If He is real or not. Its being happy in total faith. Its knowing that you know that He is always with you through thick and thin. Its when your eyes are opened and your heart is opened, and your mind is opened to every promise He has made to us and it is so easy to believe because you have experienced Him in your life and at that moment, you realize without question that its for real. And nothing can ever happen again that can cause any doubt again.

Answer 18

The more time a christian spends:

Praise and Worship

praying (alone and corporate)

fasting

studying God's Word

Spending time with encouraging christians

being a light to others

teaching and preaching

Dustin "the joy of the Lord is our strength".If you give Jesus a try He will give you joy also.

sharing the gospel (including handing out tracs)

helping needy

etc.

The more joy christians have to strengthen their life.