Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV) 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
We can lose our joy from seeing things go wrong, or if we’re seeing things happening that we can’t fix. Sorrow can also cause us to lose our joy.
Losing our joy will weaken us.
So, in order to keep it, we have to learn to take those things that are out of our hands, that we are concerned about or are weighing heavy on us, and trust God with it all.
That’s right. We have to learn that trusting Him will keep our JOY in the Lord “strong”.
Sometimes we are hit with some pretty hard and devastating things. Last year my dad, at 81 years of age, all of a sudden was having an emergency operation on his heart.
At first, they planned on putting a stent in one of his arteries to his heart. Then, as they attempted to do this procedure, they found more problems and couldn’t do the stent.
He then had to have a triple bypass. Immediately prior to the bypass surgery, they had planned on repairing his carotid artery, which was 99% clogged.
While on the operating table, his heart actually stopped beating and they had to revive him. But, by the hand of God, he came through all of that.
Shortly after all that, he was diagnosed with cancer.
It was one thing after another. My mind and body could not take it. It hit hard and fast. Bad news after bad news, surgery after surgery will do that to us.
Not only was I feeling it, but my Mom was needing me as well. All I could do was completely lean on God. I stopped thinking “what if” or “what can I do” and I literally dropped in God’s arms. I just had to take my mind off it all and take it one day at a time. That was all I could handle.
Thank God He was there to catch me. And He will catch you too!
In the midst of the storm, He carried me. And His joy was with me and we all made it through, including my Dad. Praise be to God!
If you’re battling a storm right now, and it’s hit after hit, my words to you are to just “drop” in God’s arms and let Him catch you. Stop thinking about it. Stop talking about it and let His joy grip your heart and bring you through it.
Then and only then will we be able to endure the storm and come through it with victory.
Our prayers are with you. God is good!
Let His joy strengthen you.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
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Greetings in the name of Jesus!