Terri's Wellspring

…And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10b

The Joy of the Lord is our strength.   I feel so blessed that we can look to our heavenly Father each day for strength. Looking to Him, seeking Him and pressing our way to be closer to Him can provide a fresh wind when we need it. I believe that we live in a time where strength and endurance are needed. Our lives appear to be in a marathon where we need to continue to move at a steady, consistent pace that allows us to continue to move toward our purpose. Our God is faithful to meet our needs and provide a source of peace and happiness each step of the way.

So then, be very careful how you live. Don’t live like foolish people but like wise people. Make the most of your opportunities because these are evil days. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants. Don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be filled with the Spirit by reciting psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs for your own good. Sing and make music to the Lord with your hearts. Always thank God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:15-20

Living according to God’s plan for our lives will allow our hearts to sing. It brings about an image of incredible peace and joy that is pleasing to God. We receive so many cues from the world that may not be based on God’s word or His pathway for living a blessed life. Our passage today is reminder of the importance of seeking God’s direction according to His word and His will for our lives. We need His wisdom to set the essential priorities for successful living. A prioritization of our time, our effort and our resources with our Heavenly Father as the lead creates the framework for a fulfilled life. I am so thankful to God for His blessings to me. I pray today for His wisdom to flow freely in my thinking and my decisions. And that I will have courage to follow Him where He leads. Creating the divine order in our priorities leads to a joyful heart that sings.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4

Many mornings we wake up not knowing what the day has in store for us. Some days bring challenges that make us wonder how we will make it through. Our troubles may impact our lives in many ways, health, finances, and relationships, just to name a few. The writer encourages us in this passage to “consider it an opportunity for great joy” another translation says to “count it all joy”. If you are like me, when trouble arrives at our doorstep, for many of us, our first response is something less than joy. It may look more like worry or concern. But what if we approached each problem knowing that God is on our side and that our Father was able to lead us and guide us and to provide for all of our needs. What if we knew at the beginning of the problem that the experience would strengthen our faith and that we would come out stronger in the process?  We are encouraged to approach our trials and troubles this way. It is a blessed life with joy that allows us to put our trust in Him.

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again-rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Living with a glad heart is a blessed life. Unlike what most people think I believe joy is more than an emotion. It is a conscious decision to recognize God’s blessings in our lives, both big and small. It is hard to think of God’s goodness and not express gladness and praise.

Just think, walking in joy…

• Is a decision – This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118: 24
• Provides strength – a tool for endurance- The Joy of the Lord is my strength. Nehemiah 8:10
• Shows with a smile – A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. Proverbs 15: 13
• Blesses us with the desires of our Hearts – Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Psalm 37: 4

In the passage for today, Paul puts double emphasis on rejoicing in the Lord. It is important for our successful living and our pleasing walk with the Lord.

Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10b

A new day brings with it new opportunities for a whole new set of experiences. Occasionally, I have finished a day that was full of the unexpected. Something happened that may have resulted in a series of events that I could not have even imagined. This is the nature of life and living.

Setting “the stage” or “our mindset” for each day can provide the strength or the endurance needed to make it through whatever the day brings. If we approach each day with praises on our lips for our Faithful Father, thanksgiving in our hearts for His goodness and rejoicing in our spirit for His peace and His love, it will help us to endure. It will help us to respond to the day’s events in faith and in love. It will remind us that Jesus is faithful to be with us each step of the way. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  II Corinthians 3:17

The Holy Spirit is a precious gift.  In the presence of the Lord, we experience in a palpable way, God’s love, God’s peace and God’s deliverance, when our hearts are open to His Word.  Some time ago, one Sunday morning, hearing this scripture ministered to my heart and my soul. It was a turning point for me to acknowledge that freedom from sin, depression and anything not consistent with God’s Word was available to me. I am so thankful for the blessing of liberty in our lives through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It allows us to have a clearer picture of God’s love for us and His desire for us to be free from deception and obstacles that the enemy may put in our way.  Thanking God today for the blessing of perfect freedom.

We ask him to strengthen you by his glorious might with all the power you need to patiently endure everything with joy – Colossians 1:11 (God’s Word Translation)

Some people are blessed with the ability to approach life with a positive outlook despite the many things that may be happening at the time in their lives. It is a quality that I admire in my husband. He expresses the contentment of the blessing of the day even when it may be filled with challenges.

The scripture today is one of Paul’s prayers for other believers to be strengthened by God and to “patiently endure everything with joy”.  It is a reminder of our God’s ability to provide the divine blessings of strength, patience and a glad heart in every circumstance.  In the bible, Joy is described in the many ways that it is the “natural outcome of the fellowship with God”.  What a blessing that we can approach our Father to experience these precious gifts as we continue to serve Him.