"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. 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 is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength"(Neh. 8:9-10).
I received an e-mail from a lady who asked me to pray for her because Christmas is a difficult time of the year for her. She's not alone. Many feel depressed around the holidays. And because of the absence of joy many turn to booze or others means to fill the void. But turning to the wrong sources only exasperates the problem and eventually leads to more misery in our lives. Nehemiah declared that "the joy of the Lord is r strength." There will be an absence of joy in our lives when we're looking to the season for joy rather than looking to the reason for the season. We will be joyless when we are looking around and counting our problems rather than looking up and counting our blessings. On that first Christmas day the angel of the Lord said to the lowly shepherds, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord" (Luke. 2:10-11).
We also have to be aware that sin in our lives will rob us of the joy of the Lord. And the absence of joy which is found in a close relationship with God will result in weakness that leads to more sin. But thank God that we serve a God that when we sin will through his Spirit convict us of that sin that we might seek his cleansing and forgiveness. When we experience the conviction of sin and turned to God with a broken and contrite heart, our merciful God is faithful and just to forgive us of sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
In Nehemiah’s day it is said that the people wept when they heard the word of God. Why were they weeping? They wept because of the conviction of sin—because through the word they saw the holiness of God and their sin in light of that holiness. Notice that as the people were weeping because of the word of God, Nehemiah said, “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" (Neh. 8:10).
Weeping and morning over sin in our lives is a good thing. Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). God’s Spirit bring us to mourn over sin that we might returned to God and experience his restoration, His comfort and His joy. But in Nehemiah’s day it appears that even after the people repented of their sin they continued to mourn.
I was speaking to a young Christian man today who was grieving and weeping over sin in his life. As I spoke to him I learned that he had repented of that sin weeks earlier and yet he was still morning and grieving over it. I sense that he had feelings of condemnation and weakness over his past sin. I reminded him that if he had confess his sin that God had forgiven him and that his feeing of condemnation was not of God but of the devil who the bible refers to as the accuser of the brethren. As I talked to him about God’s love, grace and faithfulness to forgive I could see joy forming in his eyes and countenance. And when he left my home is was evident that there was a renewed strength and confidence in Christ to remain faithful to the Lord.
Joy comes from not only being forgiven but from knowing that you have been forgiven. Have you made things right with God? Mourn not, nor weep for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
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