Strength verses Joy

Yesterday turned out a whole lot different than I had expected it to.  During breakfast my wife suddenly took ill and I spend the majority of the day tending to her needs.  She was almost back to her old self by dinner and was able to enjoy a lite meal.  Her weakness earlier in the day meant that I had to exert a lot of energy and strength to physically help her.  At one point when in the midst of helping her to complete a task, I could sense my stamina rapidly declining and I quietly began to ask the Lord for more strength.  Then it hit me…

As the words found in Nehemiah 8:10 came to mind saying, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” I suddenly exclaimed aloud, “I don’t need to be praying for strength, but for JOY!” And with that I began to laugh and sing for JOY.  Then I began to think out loud declaring that since His JOY is my strength, what I really need is His JOY and the physical strength will automatically arrive on the scene.   So I asked Him for His JOY and began to thank Him for it, when I felt a new burst of energy flow into me, my arms and back suddenly felt more relaxed and my attitude began to change from not being too happy about the situation at hand to being thankful that I had the opportunity to assist the one I love.

Afterwards when things had calmed down and my wife was resting comfortably, I began to think about all the scriptures that talk about strength and being strong with the idea of interchanging those words with JOY and/or the JOY of the Lord.  Our old friend Ephesians 6:10 that I wrote about last week came to mind first and I spoke out that “I am JOYful in the Lord and therefore stand in the dominion of His ability.” (KJV – personalized using the original language)

In God’s eyes strength and His JOY go together like peanut butter and jelly!  According to Nehemiah 8:10 it is difficult to have one without the other.  And when you think about it, the combination makes life a lot easier to go through having a smile on your face instead of a frown!  It makes the sometimes hard tasks to become much more palatable and enjoyable!  It sure worked for me yesterday, and I am assured that it will work for you as well.  So… the next time you feel like you can’t go any further or that your strength is zapped, just begin to ask the Lord for His JOY and the strength will most certainly follow suit!  Have a great week.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting today?”