Inspirational posts: The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.

-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 us holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strenght."
     
     The part of this I want you to observe is where he says, "Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your Strenght". The expression, "Neither be ye sorry", isn't properly rendered in the KJV Bible. In the Hebrew text, the Word translated "sorry" is "Awtsab", and it means "to crave, fabricate, or fashion worry, pain, anger, displeasure, grief, hurt". So Nehemiah was telling Isreal, in essence, "Don't process, fabricate or manufacture these negative feelings and emotions of worry, pain, anger, displeasure, grief, or hurt, because the Joy of the Lord is your Strenght".
     Nehemiah had a focus here, he was looking at them being strong and not weak, successful and not failing, prosperous and not lacking. So he told them not to manufacture worry or pain, because those things would bring them down and destroy them.
     The Joy of the Lord is your strength, and God wants you to be strong in the strenght He's made available to you. Otherwise, He can't use you. Remember what He said to Joshua, "Be strong and very courageous... (Joshua 1:7)" and how Nehemiah tells us that "strenght is in the joy of the Lord".
     This is why if satan wants you to displease God, he will go after your joy; he will try to stop you from being joyful and cause you to blame everybody around you for your bad feelings and emotions. If he succeeds, you find out that you're constantly angry and upset, because someone somewhere is always offending you, hurting you, or annoying you. Then you develop an "attitude". But what's really happening is that you're becoming weaker in Spirit, because you have allowed satan to steal the joy of the Lord that should have been your strenght.
     If the Lord says don't create, fabricate, process, or manufacture pain, displeasure, grief and worry. He is letting you know, unless you reproduce and process them in your mind, they have no influence over you.
     God said to Joshua, "I am with you, wherever you go, I will not fail you nor forsake you. As I was with Moses so I will be with you, and no man shall be able to stand against you all the days ofy your life. But this one thing, I require of you - Be strong and very courageous  (Joshua 1:5-7)".
     Like Joshua, the Lord is asking you to be strong and very courageous. But how are you going to be strong? This strength comes from the joy of the Lord, and that joy is expressed in singing, laugher, dancing, words of praise and the loving harmony you have with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, as you speak positive, uplifting, and encouraging words to them. Refuse to dwell on pain, displeasure, worry, and all such negative feelings and emotions. Don't set your mind on failure or on those who are trying to make trouble with you. Don't set your mind on their negative, hurtful, or hateful words. You are born of God and you have his nature. You have being created in his image, so think and act like him.
     You are a child of God, a manifestor of his righteousness  ( 2 Corinthians 5:20), a revealer of his light and a dispenser of his goodness. So don't let satan's character show itself through you.
     There may be someone you have declared "persona non grata" and decided to never talk to again because of something wrong they did to you, but such an attitude is contrary to God's nature. In our kingdom,  we don't make enemies. They may declare us their enemies but we only make friends.
     The bible says, God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Be Christ like in your attitude. Don't wait for the offender to apologize before you forgive. Act like God instead, who extends His love to sinners, even when they don't recognize him. Extend your love (attention and care) to them even if they despise and disrespect you. Give vent to the righteousness of God in your spirit and you'll always be happy.
     People around you will be responding negative emotionally, but you have got to learn to respond from your spirit.  God wants His word in your spirit and to control your mind as well. That's why Paul tells us by the Spirit,  Be renewed; in the Spirit ( or character) of your mind; (Ephesians 4:23).
     As for us in our country Nigeria today things are not as it was before. God is telling us directly that "We should Be Strong and Very Courageous" because we are the children of the Most High. Our economy is not of this world (our nation Nigeria). We are the seed of Abraham, and joint heirs with Christ, that means our economy is in God's hands. We shouldn't worry. The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength.

-GOD BLESS YOU!

Source: "The Power of Your Mind" by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, D.Sc., D.D.