"…This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

-Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

 

There will be a time when we will all come face to face with where we are and who we are. Some of us might find ourselves in a place in which we come face to face with despair. Some of us might find ourselves facing trials that come to us in a way that won't allow us to go around them, sweep them under a rug, or ignore them. And because of this, we are left feeling like giving up because the amount of energy we have does not match the energy we need to make this thing that seems unbearable disappear. Some of these things might be the result of our own actions and decisions and some might be a result of God choosing us to endure this particular trial or setback for His own set plans and purposes. But whatever the case, our trials have a way of making us feel far from happy, content, or joyful. And if this is where you currently are, where you've been, or where you feel like you are heading, take heart because "The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength!"

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We have heard these words either preached to us in a sermon or said to us as a form of encouragement, but what do they really mean and how can we apply them into our own lives?

 

"If the Joy of the Lord is my strength and I feel completely depleted of anything that looks or feels like joy or strength, does that mean that God is not with me?"

 

"If the Joy of the Lord is my strength, why do I feel discouraged?"

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"If the Joy of the Lord is my strength, why do I feel burdened?"

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"If the Joy of the Lord is my strength, then why do I feel like I'm being defeated?"

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We all might find ourselves pondering these thoughts while we are in a battle of trying not to just hold on to the Word of God but apply it into our lives in a way that makes it feel 'real'.

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In order to understand the significance of this verse found in Nehemiah 8:10, it is important to understand the context of Nehemiah 8. Let's briefly expound on the context of this popular verse.

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In Nehemiah 8, we find that the Book of the Law was being read to the people. They needed to be reminded of the laws and understand what these laws meant. In hearing the laws, the people began to weep. The reading of the laws reminded Israel of their sins and how they had strayed from the commandments of God. Hearing the law being read to them brought about conviction. This law being read was in a sense an act of God's grace and mercy toward them. God was giving them another chance. God had shown His faithfulness toward them, kept His promise, and was reestablishing His relationship with them. He wanted them to understand the laws and hold these laws close to their hearts. Therefore, although Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites understood why the people were mourning, they told them to instead rejoice.

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Nehemiah, Ezra, and The Levites, expressed to the people that this day was holy to the Lord. God wanted them to celebrate that they had come back into relationship with Him. Although they were remorseful for their past actions, this was a time for them to celebrate and worship God. They did not have to grieve but they could now delight in the Lord and what He was doing. They were now in a place to come into repentance, confess their sins, and start anew. 

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What does this Mean for Us?

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If we really reflect on Nehemiah 8, there are many things that we can take from it, but we'll focus on two distinct facets. We will focus on the faithfulness of God and His infallibility but let's first discuss the concept of joy.

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Joy is defined as:

• the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying

• the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life

• a source or cause of great happiness: something or someone that gives joy to someone

• something or someone greatly valued or appreciated

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If we explore the definitions of joy, we know that there is joy in God and through God. We are not all going to find joy in God for the same reasons because each of our relationships with Him are both different and personal. We all have our own God Experiences. God has performed different works, miracles, signs, and wonders in our lives. How God has blessed, rescued, and delivered each of us will vary. However, regardless of what any of our reasons are for finding joy in Him, that joy is indeed possible, but we must embrace it.

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If someone were to ask you how or what about God brought you joy, you might have to take some time to not only think of what your response would be, but you would probably try to understand what it meant to have joy in God. Before you could answer the question, you might first try to understand what the question was asking. You might even have to break the question down further in order to answer it.

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Regardless of how we approach this question, some of us might be able to reply instantly while others might struggle to pinpoint a particular reason but once they find that one reason, and begin to really reflect on it, they might begin to pour out more responses than they realized were locked deep down inside them. There are so many things that we can thank God for, but we don't carry them in a way that will allow them to carry us when we are approached with trials, circumstances, and uncertainties.

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Many of us don't take the time to reflect on how God brings us joy, makes us happy, or gives us contentment, and it may very well be for this reason that we tend to forget all the things that He has done for us. Sometimes things hit us in a way that make us forget what God has done because our truth is that in those moments when our backs are against the wall, we can't reach back to the past because we're trying to hold on to God in a way that will give us hope that He will fix our present circumstance. However, two things that we can all carry with us in our joy box as it concerns God is His faithfulness to us and His infallibility.

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God is Faithful

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It did not matter how much the Israelites messed up, sinned against God and went astray, or how many times they turned their backs on God, God remained faithful to them. Although God had to at times punish them or bring judgment upon them as a result of their wickedness, He kept His word, His promises, and remained faithful to them. Regardless of what the Israelites did, God never stopped showing His grace and mercy toward them. We can find joy in this because no matter where we find ourselves, God is always there. There are some situations that hurt. There are some situations that are painful. There are some situations in which no matter how hard we try, it is hard to pinpoint a 'positive'. But God remains who He is which is our comfort.

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The truth is that life is going to hurt. We will experience sad circumstances. There will be tears and sleepless nights trying to understand and come to terms with this thing that we are faced with, but God will comfort us if we place our trust in Him. God's love embraces us no matter how deep the pain is.

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In Psalm 42:3-5 the Sons of Korah expressed the following sentiments:

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          My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' These things I                  remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with                    shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put                your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God (NIV).

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We have to appreciate the realness of this psalm. The fact that this is in scripture shows us that God understands that we are not always going to feel happy. God understands that we are not always going to have peace about where we are. God knows that we are not always going to feel like all things are working for our good like Romans 8:28 tells us it is. We are at times going to feel like God "set us up" because we followed Him with our whole hearts, we obeyed what He told us to do, and He placed us in a situation that looks like destruction, feels like despair, and then suddenly disappeared. And as we endure this trial and are trying to hang on with all our might, here comes the commentators, the people who are looking at us making their snide remarks, inquiring why the God we tell everyone else about is not coming to our rescue like we tell others He will do for them.

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There are some who will start to question if we truly serve God or is it just a front because 'this thing' that we're facing seems like punishment without a chance of turnaround. And while we would normally have a response for the people in our lives that speak against our God, we find ourselves not responding because in alignment with the thoughts of our commentators, we are one trial short of asking ourselves where God is. We are at times going to be met with these feelings, but we have to shut them down. The writer of this psalm recognized that there was a flaw in his thinking. This psalmist (writer) once knew what joy was. There was a time in which this psalmist could be joyful and praise God because he felt that God was with him and was protecting him, but just as many of us have experienced, along came that moment when calamity came, our joy was gone and it felt like God was too.

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In realizing what he was feeling, the psalmist took a step back and questioned himself. He spoke to his soul that was anguished and dared to ask himself, "WHY?" Why was his soul in despair? Perhaps in remembering the God whom he served, he asked his soul why he was feeling sad, defeated, and disturbed when he had a God who he could place his trust in to see him through. The psalmist reminded himself to put his hope in God and to praise God in spite of what he was facing.

 

The psalmist tapped into his relationship with God by acknowledging that God was "[his] Savior" and "[his] God. He then went on to express the turmoil that he was battling with both inwardly and outwardly, but at the end of the psalm he again interjects, "Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.". He reminded himself to place his hope in God and praise Him, nonetheless.

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If we continue reading the psalms that immediately follow, we come across this same narrative of the psalmist trying to figure out where God was and why He was not coming to the rescue of the people. But even in questioning this he still chose not to turn away from or stop trusting in God while he awaited a response.

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In Psalm 46:1, the psalmist proclaimed, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (NIV). We see this progression in which the more that the psalmist endured, the more that he waited for God to answer, he had a greater reverence for who God was and what God could do.

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In Psalm 42, the psalmist made a conscious decision to place his hope in God and praise Him and as we reach Psalm 46, he is not only placing his hope in God but declaring who God is to him as he faced these circumstances. Then in Psalm 46:10, the psalmist states, "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth' (NIV). And in Psalm 47-48 we see that God has come to their defense and moved on their behalf.

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"Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet."  -Psalm 47:1-3 (NIV)

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"When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together, they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror… For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." -Psalm 48:4-5,14 (NIV)

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We don't know the full details of everything that the psalmist faced or the length of time that it took to overcome what was being faced, but it was his ability to trust and delight in God that strengthened him. His ability to find joy in who God was gave him the strength that he needed to keep praising, hoping, and believing while he waited for God to come to his defense.

The psalmist's ability to find joy in the God that he served allowed him to be obedient when God told him to stand still. What the psalmist was enduring and what he felt about what he and the people were enduring was not unknown to God. God saw the will of this psalmist and in His timing, He answered. And in true fashion, God was concise.

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When we are going through what feels like complete and total destruction and when we've been enduring for so long, we want "A WORD" from God or an answer that is going to be equal in length to our suffering. However, God's answer was "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations…[and] in the earth" (NIV). Many of us would have heard this and perhaps thought, "Seriously, God what does that mean?! Is that all you have to say?!" But the psalmist found strength in God's words.

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There are some of us who don't care what God says as long as He says something to confirm that He is aware of who we are because as long as He is aware of who we are, we know that He is aware of what we are going through, and if He is aware of what we are going through, we find confidence in the fact that at some point He'll do something to make it right. The psalmist's reaction to God's response was, "The Lord Almighty is with us…" (Psalm 46:11, NIV). God gave the psalmist assurance with His "Be Still". Whenever God tells us to "Be Still", know that He is about to not only show up but He is about to make known to us and everyone who's watching exactly WHO HE IS and WHAT HE CAN DO! Whenever God tells us to "Be Still" we must take heed to those words because it is quite often in that moment in which He whispers those words to us that we are close to our breakthrough. Sometimes God allows things to happen so that His name can be exalted and so that He can get the glory out of it. Sometimes God does things in a way so that 'man' can't credit themselves for the victory.

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The Infallibility of God

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Not only is God faithful to us but HE WILL NEVER FAIL US! God is not capable of failure in any way, shape, or form. God cannot fail us nor can He fail at anything that He does which gives us a guaranteed victory in whatever it is that we must face. We can find joy in this undeniable FACT ABOUT GOD!

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God has an unfailing love for His children. We see God's unfailing love for the Israelites throughout scripture. Because of God's love for Israel and the promise that He made to Abraham, He showed them an unfailing love, time and time again, in spite of the Israelites' unwillingness to show Him the same.

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Those who place their trust in God, those who fear God, those who reverence God, are no stranger to His unfailing love. In Psalm 44:26 which is among the books of the Sons of Korah, the psalmist reminds God of this enduring love that He has for us. This verse reads, "Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love" (NIV).

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In Psalm 26, we see David also speaking of this unfailing love that God has for us. In this Psalm, David is asking God to vindicate him. David reminds God how he has followed Him faithfully and not wavered his trust in Him. In verse 3 as David continues to make his plea to God he states, "for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness" (NIV). Those who trust God depend on His unfailing love to save them from whatever harm, trial, or difficulty they might be facing. Those who trust in God depend on the grace of His faithfulness toward them.

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While there are those who find comfort in God's unfailing love, there are others who don't recognize or reverence God's unfailing love for them because they can't see past what didn't work out in the way that they wanted it to. There are far too many of us who don't trust God yet still depend on and expect Him to rescue us from every situation that we find ourselves in. And this presents a problem. If you have no faith in God and you don't trust Him, then exactly what are you expecting Him to do?  Let's really reflect on this.

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Many of us might have at some point found ourselves upset because we felt like God did not come to our rescue. However, if you did not have faith in God then if you really think about it, neither did you have the expectation that He would do what you needed Him to do. And this is our flawed manner of thinking. We don't trust God but still expect Him to do something that we don't believe He will do to begin with. This is our truth, but this is not how we process it in our minds. In our minds it's ever so simple. We see it as "God simply failed us". How can God fail you by not doing something that you did not think He would do?

 

Not being able to recognize God's unfailing love for us decreases our strength because when we realize that we are not capable of changing our circumstance neither do we trust God to change it for us, which causes us to become all kinds of weary. We start to destroy areas of our lives that are not even related to the area that may be troubling us. We at times become so tired of what we are enduring that we start making decisions about things that aren't requiring our attention. Because we are so 'over' this one thing that we can't get rid of, we go on a 'war path' of changing every other thing that we can change, hoping that in some way it'll in turn change the situation that has us feeling trapped. Meanwhile, God is right there waiting.

 

It's Happening for Us!

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Another facet that Nehemiah 8 presents is perhaps something that we all struggle with much like we find the Israelites doing in this narrative. We far too often feel like things are happening to us instead of realizing it's happening for us.

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In Nehemiah 8, the people were so remorseful over their sins and their going astray that when they began to hear the laws being read to them, their conviction caused them to weep. It was as if the people's remorse made them feel defeated. It made them feel like they had failed. However, while their sins were ever so real, God had already brought judgment upon them for those sins, and He had now brought them out of captivity and was once again bringing them into relationship with Him. But instead of seeing what God was doing for them they were weeping sorrowful tears. This is why Nehemiah told them that it was a holy day to the Lord.​ Nehemiah wanted them to know that God was working for them, not against them and they should therefore, rejoice! The people were then able to do just that. They were able to celebrate and rejoice because they now had clarity concerning what had been said to them. They were strengthened because their eyes were now open to the things that they did not understand and now their hearts could also receive it and find joy in God and His Word. Their mentality had to come out of bondage and into their newfound place because God had restored them just as He had promised. They could now experience true transformation. They were now a people that were both restored and forgiven.

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If we were to be honest, when we face the trials of life, rarely do we feel like anything is happening for us. Our trials make us feel like a victim instead of a victor. As we endure these trials, rarely do we think or feel like they are beneficial. It is quite often not until we have wrestled with God enough or overcome these trials that we were faced with that we realize that they were to our advantage.

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When we find ourselves in a trial, setback, or are dealing with a situation that we don't understand, it is easy to become vexed, overwhelmed, confused, and discouraged. And it is in these moments that weeping is the only thing that makes sense because nothing is funny. Tears seem like a relief because laughter feels an impossibility. We can't see the good in this thing that we're enduring therefore, we most definitely CAN'T SEE THE GOD IN IT! But He's there! He always is. We just have to recognize and then accept that He is simply AT WORK. And it is in recognizing this that not only does our joy come, but it is also within this moment that our transformation comes. It is at this point that we become one with Our Strength whom we call the Lord Our God.

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The Joy of the Lord = Our Strength

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What is it about God that brings you joy? What is it about God that makes you happy? What is it about God that comforts you? What is it about God that makes you smile? What is it about God that gives you assurance? Why do you love Him? What is it about God that you can't live without?

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Whatever your answer to these questions is, this is "your joy". It is the things about God found within those answers that allow you to delight in Him. And it is these "FACTS" concerning who He is to you that will become your strength! However, you must learn to trust Him.

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When you don't trust God and when you struggle to see Him amidst your trials, you will in turn struggle with finding what about God brings you joy because you will quite too often be focused on what God didn't do versus what He has already done. If the Joy of the Lord is to be our strength, we will have to let go of any remorse, regret, guilt, shame, anger, unforgiveness, or resentment that we might have toward both ourselves and God. If we want the Joy of the Lord to be our strength but we are constantly in our feelings about what God did or didn't do, why God did it this way versus that way, or why God did it now instead of then or then instead of now, WE WILL REMAIN TIRED AND DEPLETED of strength.

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How is the Joy of the Lord Our Strength?

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The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength because when we truly trust God, out trust in Him allows us to see Him for who He is versus seeing Him based on who we want Him to be, what we want Him to do and how we want Him to do it. And it is in seeing the TRUE ESSENCE of God that strengthens us because this allows our worries to be less and our faith to be all the more.

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When we are able to recognize God for who He is, we can find hope amidst ALL OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES! When we see God for who He is, we can be more content with where we are regardless of how long we are there because we trust Him to make a way out! When we see God for who He truly is, it gives us peace which allows us to experience a real and present JOY! And it is in knowing who He is and experiencing this Joy that carries us through the trials of life, giving us the strength to endure regardless of the who, what, when, where, or how's involved.

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God has all things in His hands. Therefore, we don't have to grieve as a response to our trials because God remains in control. There is nothing wrong with tears. We will all shed tears for various reasons. However, when we choose to trust God, our tears don't have to be permanent, nor do they have to weaken us because we can depend on the Joy of the Lord to see us through.

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Psalm 30:5 is a very popular verse that we often hear, and it reads "For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (KJV). If we reflect back on Nehemiah 8, it is perhaps this very thing that Nehemiah needed the people to both understand and hold on to. Although God was angry with Israel and brought judgment upon them and although they found themselves in captivity, that was not the end of their story. God's anger against them did not last. Because God favored Israel and because of His promise to them, He delivered them. All of their weeping and sorrow of being taken into captivity would become a new day in which they could find both peace and joy because God's unfailing love and the favor He had for them brought them out of Babylon. God's unfailing loved GAVE THEM RESTORATION!

This verse is not just true as it concerns the people of Israel, but it remains true for all of us even today. Whatever we are faced with, whatever trial comes our way, we must see it as temporary regardless of how long it lasts. When we follow God with our whole hearts and place our trust in Him, He provides us with the gift of His favor. God gives us the promise of a new day. We just have to trust God and endure.

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Hebrews 12:3 reminds us to "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that [we] will not grow weary and lose heart" (NIV). Jesus was no stranger to opposition. No matter how much good he did, no matter how many miracles he performed, or how much GOD FAVORED HIM, he was hated. Although the Son of God, he still had to face constant opposition, slander, and turmoil. However, he understood that he had to be hated in order for prophecy to be fulfilled. Jesus understood that his trials were necessary and that his struggles would not always be as such. Jesus understood that in order to see his 'morning', in order to see his 'new day', he first had to endure his 'night'!

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Jesus found strength in understanding who God was and most importantly, who he was in God and through God! Jesus found joy in who his Father was. It is this same joy that he wanted his disciples to find in him. Our Joy in the Lord rests in recognizing that He is for us and He won't leave nor forsake us. God is faithful and won't fail those who trust, lean, and depend on Him. We can find strength in God because we can have confidence that in spite of what we are faced with, He is the one that initiates, fights, and wins the battle for us.

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We can find strength in God because our joy rests in the fact that not only does he have unfailing love for us, but we also have the love of His Only Begotten Son who was bruised for our iniquities. We have The Son who gave up his life for his Father's will so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin and judgment and receive salvation allowing Him to reside in us. If we think about all the things that Jesus had to endure, we could easily see him as a victim, but Jesus did not see himself as such. He saw himself as chosen. Jesus considered it a reward to endure for the sake of his Father's will. Jesus saw himself as a victor because although it seemed as though things were happening to him, he understood that all things were happening FOR HIM!

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Although Jesus had moments in which his spirit might have felt troubled. Although he had moments when he felt very natural emotions of rejection, disappointment, abandonment, and betrayal, he NEVER SAW HIMSELF AS DEFEATED! He held on to EVERY WORD THAT GOD SPOKE TO HIM, and we must learn to do the same!

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Nothing about life is easy. Nothing about trials is appealing. None of us want to have to feel discouragement, slander, backlash, ridicule, despair, brokenness, or whatever other emotion that often consumes us when we are placed in a position to endure, but we can't stop it. We have no control of what comes at us, but we can CHOOSE to face it with JOY because of who Our God is.

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Is reacting to our trial from a standpoint of joy going to be our first reaction? Probably not. However, we can definitely get there, but we must TRUST GOD AT HIS WORD! In these moments even when we feel completely angry, confused, and disgusted we must go to God and ask Him for help. In these moments we must be real enough to tell God that we can't do it by ourselves. We must be real enough to let God know that it hurts. We have to be real enough to let God know that we feel hopeless. We have to be real enough to let God know that we feel anxiety and fear. He already knows all the things that we feel but He just wants our surrendering it to Him and trusting Him to work it out. He knows we need Him but at times we must reverence Him and confess to Him that we need Him and that we are nothing without Him. Most importantly, we must understand that just because we tell God how we feel it is not going to make the things that we don't want to face go away.

 

While God is compassionate toward us and why He doesn't like to see us hurting, while He is compassionate and sympathetic towards our feelings, He does not care about our feelings more than He cares about our purpose which means that He won't 'remove the cup' from us simply because we don't like it or want to find a way around it. Much like He did with His Son that cried out to Him as he was about to endure the arrest that would send him to the cross, God won't take anything away from us that has purpose. Understand that everything has PURPOSE! God allows NOTHING TO HAPPEN FOR THE MERE SAKE OF HAPPENING therefore WE CANNOT ESCAPE TRIALS, but we can choose to place our trust in God and receive from Him the Joy we need to be strengthened as we endure. No matter what you face remember that even if we are victimized, we are VICTORS not Victims because God ALWAYS HAS A PURPOSE AND A PLAN and we will come out REIGNING!