The Joy of the Lord is my Strength

**Fenny West** Sat 21 Jun 2008, 7:19 am

Joy - from the Lord!

Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines;
the labour of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yield no meat;
the flock shall be cut off from the fold,
and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD God is my strength,
and he will make my feet like hinds' feet,
and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV )

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8,9 NIV)

So the ransomed of the LORD will return
and come with joyful shouting to Zion,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.

They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isaiah 51:11 NASB)

O how I love Your Word, O Lord! How comforting, how inspirational, how reassuring, how faith-inspiring!

Even though there might be famine in the land, insecurity and instability in the economy; credit crunch crushing many; retrenchment looming in many quarters, inflation wiping away the value money, recession songs being song in some places; yet I will rejoice!

Life is full of ups and downs. Crises call on all and sundry. But regardless of what happens, we will not lose sight of the Lord, His goodness, His mercies, His ever-presence, His faithfulness. He will not forsake His own. His promises are still yes and amen in Christ Jesus. He is still in charge and exceedingly abundantly able to keep against that day that which is committed into His hand. ( Eph3:20)

The Good Shepherd will provide for His sheep of His pasture because He is Jehovah Jireh. I may go through the valley of the shadow of death but I will fear no evil because God is with me. He will make a way where there is no way. He will make a banquet for me right before my enemies, detractors, bottlenecks or obstacles. (Ps23:4-5)

I will not cast away my confidence because of what I see. ( Heb. 10:35) I will remind myself that I walk by faith and not by sight. The just shall live by faith. ( Heb.10:38 ) For what I see is temporal. ( 2Cor 4:17-18) . My God has the final word.

So, armed with these truths I can rejoice in the Lord, my Strength, my Shield, my Shelter my Song and my Salvation. He is my fortress, the Wall of fire surrounding me. I may go through fire but like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego I shall not be burned. I shall come out not even smelling of smoke but like a rose.( Dan3) I may be thrown into the lion’s den but my God will shut the mouths of the lions for me like he did for Daniel.

( Dan. 6). I may be beaten broken, bruised and thrown into prison like Paul and Silas but I can sing in the prison because I know whom I serve and I know whom I believe.

( Acts 16:25-32) Yes, they may have connived and dumped be in prison awaiting execution the following day but I can still sleep like a baby like Peter, because He gives sleep to His beloved. ( Acts 12)

The joy of the Lord is my strength. In His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand there are pleasures forever more. (Ps16:11, Neh 8:10)

I thank You, Lord, for this joy that is unspeakable, inexplicable, and supernatural, that emanates and flows from your Throne of Grace. Its tide cannot be abated by circumstances.

medication4 deditation

Nehemiah said, "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." Neh.8:10

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2Cor 4:18
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Heb 12:2

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. God’s Everlasting Love

[b]31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 36 As it is written:

“ For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans8:28,31,32,36-39;&version=50;#fen-NKJV-28147a#fen-NKJV-28147a

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:28,31,32,36-39