The Joy of the Lord is our strength

Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.- Andrew Murray

"The joy of the Lord is my strength" Nehemiah 8:10 It is my strength and it is my fuel. It is my fuel to continue to grow as a child of God and to truly understand God's calling and will in my life. This fuel keeps the eyes of my heart and mind always looking at the mission ahead, taking myself out of the claws of this world and even taking me outside of myself. If not, I am in a daily battle to free my thoughts and emotions from the anxieties of this world and the selfishness of my own desires. 

I never truly understood the absolute importance of this fuel. What is it? My fuel is the Word of God and fellowship with other believers. Christians who are serious about spiritual growth are also serious about the Body of Christ. Growth is never a matter of mere individual pursuit of God. It is always pictured as something we pursue as a community. Without it, I rely not on God and the Body of Christ, but rather only on myself. When this happens, I am destined to dry out. This fuel through the Word of God and fellowship must be daily because it is not merely a matter of filling ourselves up for strength, but most importantly, this strength provides spiritual growth. I am seeking maturity and firmness in faith for the sake of understanding not only the mission and God- but also who I transform into and "become" THROUGH the knowledge of the mission and God. - a true soldier and ambassador for Christ and the Great Commission. All I desire is to, "...not account my life of any value nor as precious as myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" Acts 20:24

This fueling, seeking, and becoming must be daily. I am not concerned with the "once a week trip to church" to get my Jesus fix - satisfying my desire to "look" and "feel" Christian. I am concerned with "looking", "feeling" and BEING like Christ. Everyday... internally, externally and eternally. Boy have I failed. Yet, like a learning child, knowing His love and mercy upon His children, I continue to chase my hunger and thirst to be transformed in His image.

I am brought back to my blog post a while back. Here is an excerpt: "How many times do I rely on my own strength and not seek His. How many times do I close my heart to His whisper and listen to the noise of the world. Yet, every time I cry out to Him, He answers because of His relentless faithfulness. Our need's may change, but our God remains the same. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you says my King. The less I go to my Bible and the less I rely on the Word of God, the more I rely on myself… my thoughts, my plans, my strength and my understandings.

Every Sunday at church while engaging in fellowship and singing in worship, I think how I wish I could bottle that feeling of indescribable Godly joy and carry it with me every moment.  I want the everlasting taste of the Kingdom of God, now and here! On Sundays, my joyful spirit is overflowing with gladness and praise for Him. I want to live it, BE it, walk it, thirst it, hunger it and fight for it. Then the week begins and I conform to the world. That momentary feeling of Godly exhilaration dwindles and I replace it with the many anxieties of my mere life.  Does Sunday church time become the once a week “gas station stop” where we go, fill up with song and sermon, fuel up and go home…..? And each passing day, we burn off the fuel until we need to fill up again on Sunday because we are running on empty. As children of God, we have a hungry and seeking Spirit within us that like all living things, MUST be fed and filled on a daily basis, crying out “Fill me up Lord!” The everlasting taste of the Kingdom of God is in fact here and now, living within us. It is the daily feeding and rejuvenating of the spirit that allows me to taste the joy of the Lord and His Kingdom everyday."

Let our praise, fuel, strength and JOY be daily- delighting in the Lord because truly, "The joy of the Lord is our strength"

This past month I have been visiting family and friends in Canada. In my thought it served as a trip to reconcile with my family, however I soon realized that it became a battle field for the enemy to attempt to wound me through oppression and depression. I went from one spiritual environment to the other extreme. I hit an emotional and spiritual wall. Yet, even with all my fears and anxieties, it was the "Joy of the Lord" brought to life through fellowship that gave me the strength to recognize Satan's ploys. My joy is stronger than my fears.

Fellowship through the Body of Christ is like a burning pile of logs-burning with strength and power. When one log is removed from the rest, it faces the tragedy of burning out when left alone without the fuel and fire formed from the collective pile.

    

The encouragement, support, strength and love we receive and offer through fellowship produces a joy that is irresistible not only within the Body of Christ, but this reflection of vibrant burning joy becomes a testimony, proof and witness to the lost world that watches and snares at us.