The joy of the Lord

[Rose]

What a praise to get a new insight on a much quoted verse in the Bible.

Nehemiah 8:10 where it says " Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength"

My friend shared with me the other day an article she read about God's joy being our strength, which got me to thinking about what the joy of God is, and how is it our strength, it must be the kind of joy we feel for our children when they do well,and make the right choices.

What a wonderful thought, that God takes joy in His inheritance, Psalm 33:12
" Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance."

The Lord delights in us if we walk upright before Him; we are His joy and He becomes our strength.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

What a praise to get a new insight on a much quoted verse in the Bible.

Nehemiah 8:10 where it says " Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength"

My friend shared with me the other day an article she read about God's joy being our strength, which got me to thinking about what the joy of God is, and how is it our strength, it must be the kind of joy we feel for our children when they do well,and make the right choices.

What a wonderful thought, that God takes joy in His inheritance, Psalm 33:12
" Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance."

The Lord delights in us if we walk upright before Him; we are His joy and He becomes our strength.

It sounds like you are saying there are two ways to interpret the verse.

1) The Joy of the Lord is the joy we receive in communion with God

.... or ...

2) The Joy of the Lord is the Joy that He has over us, like in Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

I think that is a delightful ambiguity. It reminds me of a similarly ambiguous promise from Psalm 37:4 :

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Does that mean that God "looks at our desires", and gives accordingly, or does it mean that He "gives us" the new desires in our newly created heart that delight in Him and His will?

Of course, the "natural" reading seems to be that He "gives accordingly" ... but I have always liked the idea that He would change our hearts and new desires.

Richard

[shalag]

riginally Posted by Rose View Post
What a praise to get a new insight on a much quoted verse in the Bible.

Nehemiah 8:10 where it says " Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength"

One of my favorites is Acts 2:28 (74/heart) Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. This word 'joy' from the Greek euphrosune is rooted in its meaning - to be in a 'right mind' - for us - the mind of Christ.

[White]

I like to put in in a different way :
When HE lives in your heart and has ALL your Heart then He'll give you the desires of your heart, because the desires are no longer your desires but the desires of the LORD. HE would never put a desire in your heart unless HE had every intention of fulfilling that desire - Thus it is not yes or no for unfulfilled promises, but NOT YET, when you know for sure that you follow HIM and HIM first and foremost, making HIM your Number One. Rest therefore assured that He says what He means and He means what He says. God is not a man that He should lie....and thus you shall receive the desire of your heart in His perfect timing.

It sounds like you are saying there are two ways to interpret the verse.

1) The Joy of the Lord is the joy we receive in communion with God

.... or ...

2) The Joy of the Lord is the Joy that He has over us, like in Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

I think that is a delightful ambiguity. It reminds me of a similarly ambiguous promise from Psalm 37:4 :

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Does that mean that God "looks at our desires", and gives accordingly, or does it mean that He "gives us" the new desires in our newly created heart that delight in Him and His will?

Of course, the "natural" reading seems to be that He "gives accordingly" ... but I have always liked the idea that He would change our hearts and new desires.

Richard

[Richard Amiel McGough]

I like to put in in a different way :
When HE lives in your heart and has ALL your Heart then He'll give you the desires of your heart, because the desires are no longer your desires but the desires of the LORD. HE would never put a desire in your heart unless HE had every intention of fulfilling that desire - Thus it is not yes or no for unfulfilled promises, but NOT YET, when you know for sure that you follow HIM and HIM first and foremost, making HIM your Number One. Rest therefore assured that He says what He means and He means what He says. God is not a man that He should lie....and thus you shall receive the desire of your heart in His perfect timing.

Hi White!

Very good to see you here. I like the way you put it ... "When HE lives in your heart." That's the promise of the Gospel, isn't it?

Colossians 1:26-27 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

RAM

[TimD]

I discovered that Romans 1:5 and Romans 16:26 both have this phrase, like "book ends". Obedience to the Law was the original form of obedience, but when that would not work, it was superceded by the "obedience of faith", as the means of salvation likewise. This obedience was the difference between Peter's denial and Judas' betrayal.

It is better to have the first obedience, if motivated by the Spirit; yet it is good to know that in a time of weakness, the second obedience is there to restore us!

[shalag]

2Corinthians 10:5 is a Scripture that numerically witnesses our reliance on the Lamb. It is a witness of who wears His wedding ring.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

This is one of the most crucial Scriptures in the Word - to walk in power as a witness to Jesus Christ. John the Baptist told us that he baptized in water, but the one who followed him - Jesus - would also baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. A born again believer walking in the power of the Word is a witness of 'fire'.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

This is one of the most crucial Scriptures in the Word - to walk in power as a witness to Jesus Christ. John the Baptist told us that he baptized in water, but the one who followed him - Jesus - would also baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. A born again believer walking in the power of the Word is a witness of 'fire'.

Makes me think of Acts 2:

Acts 2:1-4 Acts 2:1 ¶ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Fire of the Holy Spirit - the only way to preach!

And let us not forget that Fire (Esh in Hebrew) is represented by the 21st letter Shin, which has the value 300 which coincides with ....

Ruach Elohim (The Spirit of God) = 300 = Shin



"Baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire" (Matthew 3:11) sure makes a lot of sense to me!

Richard

[Triple Nine]

What a praise to get a new insight on a much quoted verse in the Bible.

Nehemiah 8:10 where it says " Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" ... The Lord delights in us if we walk upright before Him; we are His joy and He becomes our strength.

To go along with your thought,

Isaiah 12:2 says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."

Isaiah 26:4 reads, "Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:"

and, of course, you know Philippians 4:13...

[Rose]

Greetings, Triple Nine

Isaiah 12:2 says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation."

Isaiah 26:4 reads, "Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:"

and, of course, you know Philippians 4:13...

Those are great verses to go along with Neh. 8:10, what support for God being our strength!

Speaking of verses that God gives us new insights on.......and since you mentioned Phil 4:13, I have to bring up Phil. 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."


As I was sitting in church one Sunday, that verse became so alive to me in a new way. So many of the "Faith teachers" teach that verse to be saying that God gives us everything we want because He has "the cattle on a thousand hills" and God does not want His children to be poor or in need, and if you have enough faith all your needs will be met.

What that verse spoke to me, was that every need we have is totally fulfilled in Christ Jesus already (that is every need we have to be complete, is in Christ) because Christ is the fullness of Gods riches in glory (His riches being spiritual, not material) and we being 'God's inheritance" in Christ partake of that fullness.


Ephesians 1:8 ".....what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,"

Deut.32:9 "For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance."

Psalms 78:71 "To shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance."

Kinda goes along with the idea of resting in Christ, because He is our Sabbath, and in doing that we are honoring God who created all things by Christ Jesus.

God does supply all our needs by Christ! Amen and Amen

Rose