Finding REAL Joy

In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, Ezra tells God’s faithful few that, "The joy of the Lord is your strength", (Nehemiah 8:10). His encouragement revealed a promise from our Heavenly Father for His people. This promise assured God’s people that even though their task ahead looked impossible, they were to trust God’s provision for ALL they needed for what He wanted.
During the days of Ezra, like today, the enemy seems to be conquering what God has purposed for good. However further reading and study of Ezra reveals that God’s desire for His people then and now is obedience to his design for life. And it will be through our submission by obedience that we as God’s people find joy through His strength.
A closer look at the original Hebrew word for “strength” in the phrase: “The Joy of the Lord is your strength” uncovers the word מָעוֹז, (maoz). This word gives us a deeper understanding of what the Bible means for us when we hear that phrase: "The joy of the Lord is our STRENGTH”. The word literally means "a place or means of safety and protection".
Our English inclination and common understanding would comprehend strength in this context to be a physical superlative that gives us a personal ability to overcome if God is on our side. In reality, this word shows us not what we can do, but where we can go.
Too often in life we believe that because we are Followers of Christ we have personal, extraordinary physical abilities to accomplish what we want to accomplish. We can be trapped by our carnal instinct to believe that God comes to us and allows us to supernaturally achieve our own agendas. The truth is, however, the strength of the Lord is ours as we join Him to achieve HIS agenda. And this is why our VERY FIRST consideration in every action should be: “Is this what I want or is this what God wants?" And too often, if we're not careful, we can wrongly assume that what He wants is what we want.
Is your personal agenda striving towards eternal Joy or temporary happiness? Do you begin your day asking the question: “Father, what can I do today to join you in the work that you are doing?” (NOT: “Father, will you join me in the work that I’m doing?”)
He is our place and means of safety. He is our protection from the enemy. And HIS joy, (desire/ purpose for life), is our strength when we keep our lives properly aligned with His purposes through obedience.

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