Nehemiah 8:10 – “… the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Ever wondered what that really means? How can the the Lord’s joy be our strength? Well, first we need to look at the who, when, where and why of the passage. We need to read the chapters and verses before it. So, let’s journey through the passages.
Most scholars believe The book of Nehemiah was written by Nehemiah himself. Nehemiah exhibited exceptional leaderships qualities and he was a man of prayer. He depended deeply on God and knew how to draw strength and assurance from Him. Nehemiah was a volunteer of sorts. He was deeply affected by the dismal state of Jerusalem and I believe God used this to move Nehemiah forward in rebuilding the wall and spiritually restoring the people of Israel.
“… the joy of the Lord is your strength
Nehemiah 8:10
Without going into too much background, I just want to look at verse 10 – “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” How does the Lord’s joy give me strength?
Chapter 8 starts with Ezra, a leader of the Jews on the first day of the seventh month read the law to an assembly of people, men, women and children, and all who were able to understand. As they listened to Ezra the people began to weep for they knew how disobedient they had been to God. This was known as the Feasts of Trumpets. Everyone was to stop working and remember the Lord. Everyone started out praising and worshipping God. As Ezra continued to read the law, they wept and mourned because they became aware of how disobedient they had been. The reading and receiving of the law was to be a joyous time. God’s Word has the power to convict, convert and revive and we can be joyous when we are convicted because true conviction leads to repentance and restoration with God. “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” – 2 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT). When we repent and change we are restored and that brings us JOY! GOD’S JOY!
How happy are you when someone you’ve hurt forgives you? Have had to repent to someone for hurting them, especially someone you love? When you realize what you have done and feel bad, or sorrowful and want to make things right, you go to that person, apologize and ask for forgiveness. When that person forgives you, you both are so happy and the relationship is restored. How happy have you been when someone apologizes for hurting you?
In Zepahnaih 3:17 – The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” God is love – 1 John 4:8 & 16 1 John 4:8 – But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:16 – We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. John 3:16 – For God so Loved the world, He gave His only Son (paraphrased).
He will take great delight in you … will rejoice over you with singing.’
Zepahnaih 3:17
All we have to do is receive that forgiveness and His love!!! He takes joy in us when we turn from our sin and and are deeply sorry for what we have done. It is a time of restoration and a time to celebrate like people did in verse 10 of Nehemiah. Because God is joyful in my repentance I can draw strength from that.
The Kedge Anchor 
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