The Joy of the Lord Is Our . . .

In 2024, Holy Barre plans to explore and pursue His joy on our journey of burning brighter together! Will you join us?

A popular statement in the Bible about joy comes from the story of Nehemiah, after he and his team have worked hard to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. This entire book of the Bible is a beautiful and powerful story of God’s faithfulness and our role in His restoration. Nehemiah was an amazing leader and example for us, especially entering a new year.

The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Nehemiah 8:10

Nehemiah spoke these words after the completion of the wall and during a time of feast and celebration, praising the Lord for His faithfulness. Yet to ensure we grasp the power of this statement, we must acknowledge the resistance, oppression, threats, and struggles Nehemiah and his team experienced in rebuilding the wall. The entire story that led up to this final celebration was not an easy journey but one requiring endurance and faith.

I wish New Year’s Eve was a time when we could flip and switch and have a fresh start, forgetting the struggles on the past and moving forward with joy for the future. Yet I think in doing so, we’d miss out on the depth of His joy and the strength of His power that sustains us on our journey.

Throughout scripture, we read about trials and struggles and challenges. I pray one of your new year’s resolutions is to spend time in His Word each day. This is VITAL to our overall health. Plenty of passages in the Bible are not easy to read or understand, so you can probably relate to the people’s response in the passage below. (Thank heavens for teachers and His Spirit to help us study His Word!) And since we live in a broken world, it is a safe guess for 2023 included times of weeping. Yet the focus of this story is God being after our hearts and His joy being our strength. We keep our eyes on Jesus and move forward in His love, joy, and peace.

Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.” So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

Nehemiah 8:9-12

Take a few minutes to reflect on the resistance, oppression, threats, and struggles of 2023 in your own life. While pain was likely present, we must believe that the Lord had and has purpose in it all.

I invite you to complete Nehemiah’s statement in your own words. Write it down, share it with a friend, and comment below here. What truth can you stand firm on entering into 2024? The joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord is my hope. The joy of the Lord is my lifeline. The joy of the Lord is my drink. The joy of the Lord is worship. The joy of the Lord is health.

The joy of the Lord is my ______________.

– You