JOY PART 5

“… For the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Neh 8:10)

Joy is your strength to resist the wiles of the enemy in this season clothe yourself with the garment of joy. You will laugh the devil to shame. We are more than conquerors. Joy strengthens the inner man, a merry heart gives strength and health but a broken spirit dries the bones (Prov. 17:22). Nehemiah understood the place of joy in a man’s life which was why the only remedy he gave to the Jews in their weeping was joy.

“And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 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. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.” (Neh 8:9-12)

Lack of joy in a man’s life tends to poverty, frustration and all the evils of life. A man of joy is a man of restful mind/heart, a great thinker and planner, he gets revelation and dreams big but a man of sorrow is sick from head to toe and sees nothing good but evil thinks evil and possesses evil too. In a way, our level of joy determines our successes in life. Nehemiah understood that weeping, mourning and feeling guilty and sorry will hinder their vision and dream of completing the vision – a mournful heart does not think well or see well.

“Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” (Joe 1:11-12)

Shame, reproach and troubles are outward manifestations of a joyless life. People who are never happy with others and their progress are never progressive neither are they happy. The result of our labour is a direct proportion of the joy of the Lord in our heart,
Our ability to do more or to continue to work is as a result of the joy in our hearts to continue no wonder the Bible says a liberal soul makes fat. The scriptures say, ‘the harvest of the field; ’ which means the product of your job, businesses and everything that represents your source of income in life – will be destroyed because joy is withered away from the son of men. No wonder poor people are often sad people; miserable people are always sad people, no wonder people of evil heart do not make it in life. You can stop destroying your investment with joy. Complaints and sadness destroy your seed. You are not smatter than God. If god says, sadness is not good for you, change and have joy. Try been joyful the next time you go for that job interview and that business deal; you will be surprised at the outcome.

As a student in the university, I had a friend; we play football together in school. This boy was not academically brilliant; he is not your type of intelligent person, the ‘A’ grade student type but this boy is always full of joy even when his test result is bad, others could be sad but not Johnson (not real name); he is always bubbling with joy. Years after his graduation on one night on National network news, I saw him on T.V with same joy all over him and now he is a member of the House of Representatives and heads one of the major committees. A joyful man is a great dreamer/thinker. He may not have made ‘A’s’ in school but he knows where he is going. Joy always make way and gives you strength for the race of life.

Lack of joy is bad, makes you sick and robs you of your harvest.

See what the Psalmist and Prophet Isaiah have to say,

“When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.” (Psa 42:4)

“Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.” (Isa 51:11)

Joy is an unstoppable weapon of triumph!


Apostle Lawrence Achudume
The General Overseer of Victory Life Bible Church Int'l
With branches spread across the globe
Can be reached on victory2life@yahoo.com
This message can be reproduced but must be duely credited.