“This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:9b
I pulled these words out of their context, which is not a recommended practice. However, I believe the heart of what Nehemiah stated here is a universally transferable truth. The joy of the Lord is your strength…
In my experience, there is a sense – maybe more than a sense… maybe it’s closer to an assurance – of “all-rightness” that seems to be related to the presence* of God. It is not always rational or even explainable; sometimes it is flatly counterintuitive. But it’s as though the Creator smiles, touches, communicates, “It’s going to be alright.”
Sometimes joy violates my sense of justice. I might attenuate my celebration of someone’s good fortune because it strikes me as dissonant to their choices. This embarrasses me; I’m committed to learning a better, more generous-hearted way.
Sometimes I abstain from joy because I don’t think it’s congruent with my circumstances. I recognize my ridiculousness in this, but can still be very stubborn about it. Joy isn’t a wage – it’s a gift. Once received, it enlivens and empowers the rest of life.
*God's Presence is a huge topic unto itself -- one I'm not up to tackling today...
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
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