Joy Is Strength

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 73, Joy Is Strength.

"And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10.

Let that land for a moment. Do not be grieved — the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Here is what was happening that day in Nehemiah. The people had gathered in the open square. Ezra opened the Scriptures and began reading aloud. And the people wept. Really wept — with broken hearts, under the weight of everything that had gone wrong, everything that had been lost. And God did not despise those tears. He didn't look away from a single one. But He refused to leave them there — on the ground, heads down, overwhelmed by grief. Because conviction is meant to bring you to God, not to keep you pinned under it. A holy day calls for a lifted head.

And then comes this line that changes everything: the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Notice what it does not say. It does not say — when you're strong enough, you'll feel joy. It says the opposite. Joy comes first. Joy is the source of strength, not the reward for it. It's not what you get after you've held on long enough. It's what carries you while you hold on.

And this joy is not mood-dependent. It doesn't rise and fall with how the morning feels, whether you slept, whether things went your way, whether anyone called. It is anchored in who God is. That's why it can hold weight. Willpower runs out by mid-morning — we all know that. But gladness in God keeps walking long after willpower has quit.

There's one more thing Nehemiah told the people to do that day. He said: send portions to those who have nothing prepared. Because joy is not meant to be hoarded. It doesn't grow by being protected — it grows by being given away. The moment you share it, it gets stronger in you.

That's what this text is saying today. Not pretending everything is fine when it isn't. Not plastering over real pain with cheap positivity. It's lifting your eyes — toward who God is, what He has done, what He has promised — and letting that become the ground you stand on.

Grief is not fuel. It does its work — it brings you to God. But that's not where you stay. A holy day asks you to rise.

So today, here's how you do it — concretely. Before breakfast. Before you open your phone, before you check the news — write down one reason for joy in God. Just one. Something real, something He has done, something He is. And then send it to someone. Someone having a hard week, someone who could use a portion today. You don't need the perfect words. Just share what's on your plate.

Because the joy of the LORD is your strength. And it only gets bigger when you pass it on.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.