Bible League: Living His Word Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!What is joy? Joy is an emotion. It is an emotion of great delight and happiness. To be joyful is to be elated about something. What is the "joy of the Lord?" The joy of the Lord is joy that comes from God. It is an emotion of elation that God gives His people. It is the gladness of heart that God gives us because we know Him, trust Him, and rely on Him. Why is the joy of the Lord our strength? Emotions of sadness and dejection rob us of our energy. Joy, on the other hand, does just the opposite. It gives us energy and strength. Joy and the strength it provides are important because we need them in the daily struggles of life that we all go through. These struggles can have the effect of wearing us down, tiring us out, and causing us to want to give up. The joy of the Lord is the antidote to all of that. It gives us the strength to face the trials and troubles of life with grace and peace. It is hard to bring down a person who has the inner strength that comes from the joy of the Lord. Since the joy we have comes from above, it can actually increase during the trials and troubles of life. The apostles experienced this when they were arrested twice by the High Counsel in Jerusalem. After the second arrest, they were flogged and told to never preach the gospel again, but they left there "rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus" (Acts 5:41). They also continued to preach the gospel. Even though joy comes from God, there is a human component as well. Having joy is something that we do. As a result, there are things we can do to increase our joy. The prophet Habakkuk faced all sorts of difficulties, but he said "yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!" Habakkuk made a decision to make himself joyful. Today, as our strength is about to be tested, let us follow Habakkuk's example and stir up the joy of the Lord we have within us. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNumbers 14, 15 Numbers 14 -- The People Rebel; Moses Pleads; Pardon and Rebuke NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 15 -- More Offerings; Sabbath-Breaker Stoned; Tassels on Garments NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 6:1-32 Mark 6 -- Jesus at Nazareth; Sending out the Twelve; John Beheaded; Jesus Feeds Five Thousand, Walks on Water, Heals NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion For that is what God is like.He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die. Insight We often pray for God's guidance as we struggle with decisions. What we need is both guidance and a guide—a map that gives us landmarks and directions as well as a constant companion who has an intimate knowledge of the way and will make sure we interpret the map correctly. The Bible will be such a map, and the Holy Spirit will be the constant companion and guide. Challenge As you make your way through life, use both the map and your Guide. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa.Instead of going to Nineveh to preach the Word, as God bade him, Jonah disliked the work, and went down to Joppa to escape from it. There are occasions when God's servants shrink from duty. But what is the consequence? What did Jonah lose by his conduct? He lost the presence and comfortable enjoyment of God's love. When we serve our Lord Jesus as believers should do, our God is with us; and though we have the whole world against us, if we have God with us, what does it matter? But the moment we start back, and seek our own inventions, we are at sea without a pilot. Then may we bitterly lament and groan out, "O my God, where hast thou gone? How could I have been so foolish as to shun thy service, and in this way to lose all the bright shinings of thy face? This is a price too high. Let me return to my allegiance, that I may rejoice in thy presence." In the next place, Jonah lost all peace of mind. Sin soon destroys a believer's comfort. It is the poisonous upas tree, from whose leaves distil deadly drops which destroy the life of joy and peace. Jonah lost everything upon which he might have drawn for comfort in any other case. He could not plead the promise of divine protection, for he was not in God's ways; he could not say, "Lord, I meet with these difficulties in the discharge of my duty, therefore help me through them." He was reaping his own deeds; he was filled with his own ways. Christian, do not play the Jonah, unless you wish to have all the waves and the billows rolling over your head. You will find in the long run that it is far harder to shun the work and will of God than to at once yield yourself to it. Jonah lost his time, for he had to go to Nineveh after all. It is hard to contend with God; let us yield ourselves at once. Daily Light on the Daily Path Job 23:3 "Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!Isaiah 50:10 Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Luke 11:9,10 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. • "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 1 John 1:3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:13,18 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. • for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Hebrews 13:5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," John 14:16,17 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; • that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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