THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH .

 

EVENING DEVOTIONS by James Smith

JANUARY 31

 

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and

drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom

nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord:

neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

 
 
Fear and sorrow naturally weaken us, but faith and joy give us strength.
 
Joy is the cordial of the soul; it quickens, enlivens, emboldens, and makes us strong. Our Heavenly Father is called, “The blessed, or THE HAPPY God.”
 
He is also the happy-making God.
 
He loves to see his people happy, therefore, as the God of all comfort, he has made great provision for our happiness.
 
There are wells of salvation, and we should draw from them with joy.
 
There is an inexhaustible fulness in Jesus, and from that fulness we should receive, for every want, for every duty, for every trial.
 
We cannot apply to it too often, we cannot go to it for too much.
 
Hear our beloved Lord, “ Ask and receive, that your joy may be full.”
 
It is only as we live out of self, upon Jesus; above the world in the region of God’s free, that we can be happy.
 
The happy Christian is the strong Christian, and it is the strong Christian that brings much glory to God, much credit to his cause, and does much good in the world.
 
It is as much our duty to be happy, as to be holy, both are recommended.

 

Rejoice evermore

In the truth and the power,

And the grace of your heavenly Friend,

‘Till to us who believe

He his glory doth give,

And a kingdom that shall never end.

 
James Smith