by  Stephen Nielsen

Two Sundays ago my pastor briefly mentioned a verse, Nehemiah 8:10: "…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." That verse has been stuck in my mind ever since, I suppose because those words belong to a song I sang as a child. But I also think that God is telling me something right now, that if I praise Him and sing songs of praise to Him all during the day that I will be encouraged and be strengthened; that He will actually strengthen me.

The strength we are talking about is spiritual strength; but I think it is also emotional and even physical strength. And it comes from the Holy Spirit. When we are full of the Holy Spirit and walk in the Spirit He gives us joy—His joy. And then, in that joy we are made strong. And as Ephesians 5:19 tells us, we will speak to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.

I like to think of this joy in the Lord as living water, bubbling up in me and flowing out of my mouth as praise. I get this idea from John 4:13 and John 7:38. In John 4:13 Jesus was speaking to a Samaritan woman about water. He told the woman, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst again. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Then in John 7:37-38, on the last day of the Jewish feast, Jesus stood and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’" I love that thought. When we believe in Him (trust in Him), our lives will be full of joy and praise to God. And that joy and praise will continue to flow out of us like a river.

I grew up on a farm and we had an artesian well. Do you know what that is? It’s a well that continues to run without having to pump it. Apparently, there are underground water beds that are trapped below by impermeable rock; and when a well is drilled down to the water bed, a continuous flow of water rises to the surface by internal hydrostatic pressure.

It was a long time ago, but I remember clearly that the water in our well was always running. It never stopped. And it was so cold and so good! That’s what our lives should be like—always flowing over with the cool water of praise, continually bubbling up from within us, from the Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

As we go about our duties this week let us feast on the Word of God and rejoice always in Him. Remember… The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Copyright Stephen Nielsen