Nehemiah 8:10
“Some want to live within the sound of Church or chapel bells; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” - - C.T Studd
Nehemiah 8:10
“…And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Sydney J. Harris is attributed to writing, “Pleasure’ and ‘joy’ not only are not synonymous but may be as profoundly different as heaven and hell.” And J.I Packer stated, “Joy is a condition that is experienced, but it is more than a feeling; it is primarily, a state of mind.” We find ourselves living in the day and age where the lines of true joy and pleasure are so blurred that even the best of us find ourselves in seasons of question and depression. As American Christians, do we even know the difference?
Our passage this month is from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. This verse comes from the part of the story where Ezra the priest and Nehemiah, the governor, proclaim God’s law to the people to remind them of the covenantal promises He made with them. The people of exile and hardship had based their happiness circumstantially on their lives, which in this period of God’s story, found them returning to Jerusalem as Nehemiah was tasked with the rebuilding of the wall. Ezra and Nehemiah reminded the people to not be grieved in their repentance, but to live in joy. Why? Because they had returned to their land? No, because the Lord was their strength. These men were reminding the people of the promises and character of God. This is what J.I. Packer meant by joy primarily being a ‘state of mind’.
When one looks to the Creator and not the creation for truth, we look upon one that is never altering, never changing, and never ceasing to be who He is. When we look to our flesh and our world around us for fulfillment, we are often only meant with the harsh reality of its brokenness and fallenness. Satan knows this, and through his accusations and mockery, he attempts to thwart the perception of God’s people away from the goodness of God and onto the limits of our understanding. Scripture testifies to this again and again by the recorded history of our faith. And yet, regardless of Satan’s schemes, history also records the faithfulness of our covenantal God to those who love and trust Him.
Do we not think that Adam and Eve were mocked by their shame after they disobeyed Him and brought sin upon all of creation? Yet what they heard was their Father asking, “Where are you?” Do we not think that for the near century of Noah’s labor to build the ark, he was mocked by the wickedness of the world and the pains of his toil? Yet as the rain fell and drowned the scoffers below, Noah and his line would continue the race and maintain the declaration by God to the serpent that by the offspring of the woman his head would be bruised. Do we not think that Abraham was mocked by the bareness of Sarah’s womb? Yet by his faith the Lord would promise descendants as numerous as the stars. Do we not think that Jacob was mocked when he was brought the bloody coat of colors for his favorite son Joseph? Yet his limp would one day take him to the steps of Egypt to be reunited with his son. Do we not think that Joseph was mocked by the dreams of his youth from the cold of prison? Yet by dreams he would find himself sustaining not only his people but all of Egypt. Do we not think that Moses was mocked by the crashing waves of the Red Sea as Pharoh and the chariots pursued him? Yet by these same waves God would make true the name Red Sea as it came down on His enemies. Do we not think that Caleb and Joshua were mocked as they laid eyes on the giants that inhabited the land they were just promised? Yet by their faith, Joshua would lead God’s people through conquest and triumph. Do we not think that Samson was mocked as he stood there, chained and blinded due to the consequences of his lust? Yet through his repentance and sacrifice, Gods enemies would fall once again. Do we not think that the anointed boy David was mocked as he stood before the armies of Israel? Yet by his fear for the Lord and not man, he would stand before that same army holding the head of a giant. Do we not think Joseph was mocked about the righteousness of his now pregnant wife? Yet by his faith he would see the wisest of men bowing to the Righteous Fruit of Mary’s womb. Do we not think that Peter was mocked by the rooster as it crowed at him, invoking the look of His Savior from his denial?. Yet in the following days, Peter would hear on the shore three times, “Do you love me?” Do we not think that Paul was mocked by the thorn in his side that he pleaded with the Lord to remove? Yet Paul was answered, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
And as our greatest example, we know the mockery our Savior faced, and yet He defeated and fulfilled it all as He sustained His own life to the very moment of declaring, “It is finished!” Our Lord is the Stronger Man who has come to bind the strong man. Satan tried to offer the kingdoms of the world to Jesus the “easy way” during his temptations. Yet our King bled and prayed in Gethsemane, “not My will but Yours be done.” Why? Because Jesus, as our example, knew the faithfulness and love of the Father outweighed the satanic lies of this world. That is where true joy derives from. It is not circumstantial to our world. Our carnal world and enemy mocks us in our faith daily by our broken relationships, our deteriorating health and bodies, our lack of understanding, our addictions, and most commonly our past and present sins. Yet the sustaining hope for us is that we are saved by grace, not our circumstances. As the hymnist wrote,
“On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in Him be found:
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.”
A first responders, our occupation is to be mocked by the brokenness of this world. Every injustice carried out, every generational curse repeated, every cowardly leader exalted, every trauma endured; mocks and declares to us, “Where is your God?” Yet as we carry out the oaths of our professions, may we stand in the face of this mockery with joy. Not joy that neglects or disregards the severity of our callings, but a joy that is rooted in the reality that our God is not subjected to this vapor of man. Our God holds yesterday, today, and tomorrow in His hand. Hands that were pierced and stretched out to redeem this very world we have been called to serve. So do not lose heart. Let us end and meditate on the words of Charles Spurgeon,
“It is by our faith that we are saved, justified, and brought near to God, and therefore it is no marvel that it is attacked. It is by believing in Christ that we are delivered from the reigning power of sin, and receive power to become the sons of God. Faith is as vital to salvation as the heart is vital to the body: hence the javelins of the enemy are mainly aimed at this essential grace. Faith is the standard bearer, and the object of the enemy is to strike him down that the battle may be gained. If the foundations be removed what can the righteous do? If the cable can be snapped whither will the vessel drift? All the powers of darkness which are opposed to right and truth are sure to light against our faith, and manifold temptations will march in their legions against our confidence in God.” – All Joy in All Trials (February 4th, 1883).
Zechariah 3: 1-4
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
“Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.” – John Calvin
James Doyle 6L13 -February 2026-