"Keeping Joy"

"....for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10b

Who doesn't want joy in their lives. We search in a wide variety of areas hoping to find it. We hope to obtain it through material possessions, through popularity, through relationships, through wealth, through success. But true and lasting joy comes only from one source-- "of the Lord". Only He can give true and lasting joy. Only He can give us a joy that passes the test of time, that withstands the storm, that holds steady when we are being shaken.

Have you ever noticed that at a time when you should be full of joy, instead there is sorrow and confusion? You should be rejoicing because God has answered your prayer and you have seen the promise come to pass, but you aren't. You would have thought that the Israelites, when they came out of Egypt would have come out overjoyed. After all, the Lord had delivered them from cruelty and bondage. But they barely made it out of the city and you don't see rejoicing you see fear, doubt, complaining and rebellion. That's because- in their lives and in ours- there is a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy, and one of the things he is after is our joy.

If there should be joy in your life but there isn't, the thief is at work. He has come to steal it. How does he steal it? By getting you to look at the circumstances. By getting you to "believe what you see". Our joy stays intact when we look at God's word, His promises and His faithfulness. Our joy is of the Lord, in the Lord and through the Lord, so by staying focused on the Lord the thief cannot steal our joy.

Have a great day. Our joy is of the Lord, and we keep it by staying focused on Him.

For further reading:
John 10:10
Ephesians 5:22
Isaiah 61:10
Hebrews 12:2
2 Corinthians 5:
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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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