God Speaking

“Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.”

(1 Chronicles 16:27)

Football mania is sweeping through North America this week as football teams and their supporters look forward to the culmination of all the qualifying games as the two opponents who have reached the finals, meet each other in the Super Bowl. My husband and I read a devotional together every morning and I was intrigued to see the title of this morning’s reading, “The Factory Of Sadness” and I was anxious to find out what this strange phrase meant. It turned out to be a name given to a football stadium by the followers of the team, to indicate the fans’ disappointment in the fact that year after year their team was never able to qualify for the Super Bowl.

As we were driving to church later on in the morning, I kept thinking about our study, and as we approached the front door, I could hear the chatter and laughter of friends greeting each other and then as we entered the sanctuary we could hear the worship team beginning to assemble their instruments and with one accord, glorious Spirit filled music flooded and surrounded us all. It would have been impossible not to be filled with the joy of the Lord and as we joined our voices with this beautiful music and while we were singing, I had a wonderful thought, this dwelling place of the Lord, should be called, The Factory of Joy.

Joy is an integral part of our journey with the Lord. If you check a concordance to find the word, “joy” you will be confronted with columns of verses all containing the word. Dozens of verses are found in the Psalms alone, where the Psalmists loved to sing about the joy of knowing the Lord.

“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” (Psalm 19:8)

The author of our study was of course pointing out that sadness and sorrow are also a part of living in this fallen world, but if we look to earthly pursuits and try to overcome the times of trouble by relying on them, we will definitely be disappointed, we cannot manufacture joy by ourselves.

The story of Nehemiah’s faithfulness to the God he served, is a wonderful example for us to follow when sadness or disappointment begins to cloud our thoughts. Nehemiah is sent back to help the remnant of the Israelites rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and meets stiff opposition from those living around them. He encourages the people by reading and teaching God’s word and then urges them to meet together and enjoy food together, but the thrust of his message revolves around the power of Joy.

“Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared, this day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

When we can grasp the amazing fact that joy in the Lord produces strength, we have a powerful weapon to use against whatever assails us, and if we feel the joy at any time is fading we just need to return to the Factory of Joy, (fellowship with the Lord), and be renewed and empowered.

“They will come and shout with joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord…” (Jeremiah 31:12)