The Joy of the LORD is My Strength

The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord is my strength

Oh, the joy of the Lord is my strength

He fills my mouth with laughter and I sing ha ha ha ha

He fills my mouth with laughter and I sing ha ha ha ha

He fills my mouth with laughter and I sing ha ha ha ha

Oh, the joy of the Lord is my strength

I learned this simple child's song in my Tiny Tots class in church, more years ago than I want to admit. The third verse was always my favorite.....just a series of "ha ha's" until the joy of the Lord is my strength part. Once you start "ha ha"-ing you just have to laugh right?

For years I thought it was just a fun song. Eventually, I learned that it was from scripture. As much as Christians in my life encouraged one another with these words, I figured it must be in the Bible a lot so I was surprised at what I found when I went to look it up. It is only in the Bible once and that's in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. (Neh 8:10).

I guess I began to wonder so much about this verse because it seems like an oxymoron to me. How is laughing strong? Why isn't it the "power" of the Lord is my strength? Or the "righteousness" of the Lord? Or the "justice" of the Lord? So, I started reading Nehemiah.

Now, I knew Nehemiah was famous for rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem but this passage of joy and strength does not refer to the building of the wall. After the wall was built, Ezra the priest, brings out the Book of the Law of Moses and reads it to an assembly of all the people from day break til noon. The people are so moved they begin to weep. Then Nehemiah gets up and tells the people, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

A lot of bad things have been happening here in our household lately. I am still having problems breathing due to asthma. Three of my children are sick with a virus. One of our dogs broke his leg and has to be in a cast for six weeks. My husband is feeling a familiar pain that may mean another kidney stone. Our oldest RADlet is being moved from one treatment facility to a lesser restrictive one and is stressed about the change. My husband is working two part time jobs while trying to find a full time job. I could go on with my list, but I think you get the idea.

How do I feel about all that is happening in my life right now?! I am at PEACE! I think that is the main idea about the this verse. The "joy" is a peace from God that says, "No matter what happens, God is good and He's gonna make sure I'm OK." There is a huge inner strength in that. I know I can get through this day because God is there to give me peace and that inner pleasure (not always an outward yeeeeha kind of joy).

So, no matter what your day holds...........the JOY of the LORD is your strength!