When I was a kid in Sunday School, we used to sing the chorus from the book of Nehemiah, “The joy of the Lord is my strength. Oh, the joy of the Lord is my strength.”

The Bible says, “Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2).

Trials like COVID-19, social unrest, hurricanes, rancorous politics, economic slowdowns, wildfires.

Sorrow, pain, fear, disappointment, discouragement or depression?  Joy in the face of this?

Yeah, right. I can’t do that.

But that’s the point. We can’t do that, not on our own. We need the Lord to deal with God-sized trials.

The Bible says, “Cast all your anxiety on him” (1 Pet. 5:7), and “find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). 

Then there’s this promise:

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

One fruit of the Spirit is joy. God’s joy in us becomes our joy in him.

How do we survive and thrive even in the midst of trials? 

The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10).

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020    

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