Joy: His and Mine

10.12.14

Nehemiah 8.10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah (ESV)

You’d think I’ve never read the Bible: is he saying the joy the Lord gives me is my strength; or is he saying the joy the Lord has with me is my strength? Or both? Or neither? Tenses – whatcha gonna do with them? I think I’m leaning in the direction of both. Not, as my friend Jim says, either/or; but both/and.

We had a pretty emotional time today in Chech (the Kenyans pronoun it 'chech'). It’s weird when you’re all broken over your sin, and happy to be that way. It’s no wonder unbelievers accuse us believers of leaning on a crutch. (Of course the proper response is: Yes, I do lean on a crutch, but it helps me, unlike you, to keep from having to crawl through the raw sewage of life…) But when we’re, all weepy over our sins one minute, and then all happy to be so the next; well, it confuses people whose perspective is from the poop-zone.

Nehemiah’s people were saddened by the public reading of God’s word. It made them realize just how far they’d drifted. And it was a moving reminder of how desperate they were without it. (Hmmm, that sounds like Church today and we didn’t even read Nehemiah.) But like them, the joy of the Lord – whether our knowing Him or His knowing us – is our strength; it has been the strength of God’s people ever since there’ve been God’s people.

Where is our joy? Is it accomplishment? Is it in our own efforts and doing? Or is it coming to the realization that without our Great God, in whatever manner, we’re toast. We must be broken from the foolishness within. We must be embarrassed over and over again at our lack of faith and propensity to push God out of the way so we can, by god, get things done. O Lord! Save us.

Tonight, after a full day of doing I am resting in joy: His and mine. I know He has joy over me. I’m glad I have joy over Him.

Father, Your joy, however it shows up, is my strength because You are my Very Great Reward. I am sorry for the stupid things I have done this past week, and I am sorry I’ve pushed You out of the way in my zeal to get things done. Your joy is my strength. Help me to walk with You as You walk with me this new week and to remember that apart from You I can do nothing. Thank You for the reminder, for the tears, and for the JOY that saves me – You are good! Amen.