If you’ve lived long enough, you know that the world and the people in it are great at sucking out the joy in us. So when this happens, where do you draw your joy from? There is only one source of joy that will leave you stronger, and that is of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is your strength.

There I was laying on my bed, crying endlessly. I’d stop crying for a couple of minutes, but then the thought of the hurt would come back again and force more tears out of me.

How could such a good and loving person that I depended on lead me to where I was? Instead of that person leaving me stronger, I found myself weaker with no joy at all. I prayed and asked God for words that would heal my wounded heart. It was at that moment when I heard the words “the joy of the Lord is your strength”.

What a beautiful truth that was. A truth that I desperately needed and maybe a truth that you need to hear as well.

Maybe you’ve found yourself pondering at the thought of why good things in this world just don’t seem to leave you stronger or fill you with joy. When we rely on things of this world to be our source of joy, it robs us of the very joy we wanted in this first place. Only God’s joy can strengthen us through the imperfections of people and life.

This world was made to rob our joy, but the Lord was made to fill our joy. 

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” God knew that this world would only rob us of all joy and peace, which is why he reminds us to rely on his joy as our strength. God’s joy will never fail and will always leave us stronger.

Immerse yourself in God’s truth and presence during your broken times and you will find yourself filled with joy that will only leave you stronger. God’s joy has the power to move us beyond our pains, worries, doubts, and fears.

God made this day for you to see his beauty and be filled with joy. He didn’t make this day for you to be filled with sorrow and hurt. Psalms 118:24 says, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Don’t let satan rob you of the joy that God originally intended for you to experience this day. Rejoice because the Lord has given you this day to glorify him.

Do you find yourself being robbed of joy? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself, where are you drawing your strength from? Who are you relying on for joy? If the answer isn’t God, then know that whatever you are depending on will leave you with temporary joy. You will find yourself chasing after joy when God intended for his joy to chase after you.

Chasing after joy will not leave you stronger, but rather tired and weak. That’s where I found myself at – chasing after joy through the things of this world. However, God never intended for us to chase after joy, but to be constantly filled with his joy. God loves us and desires to pour out his joy on us. Don’t let anything rob you of the joy of today that the Lord has made. So remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength.