“…this day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep…Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:9-10, NIV).
Dr. David Fink, Psychiatrist for the Veteran’s Administration, gave an interesting report on 10,000 case studies. These people, who were mentally and emotionally “tied up,” asked Dr. Fink for some short, magic cure for nervousness. In his search for such a cure, he studied 2 groups:
The first group was made up of thousands of people who were suffering from mental and emotional disturbances.
The second group contained those who were free from such tensions.
Gradually, one fact began to stand out. Those who suffered from extreme tension had one trait in common -- they were habitual fault finders, constant critics of people and things around them. Whereas the men and women who were free of all tensions were the least fault finding and critical. It would seem that the habit of criticizing is a prelude to or mark of nervousness and imbalance.
One very short definition of joy is “The presence of God’s nature.” 2 Peter 1:4 teaches that we are partakers of God’s nature.
Joy is retained when we trust in the sovereign grace and mercy of God. It comes to us initially in salvation -- “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). “…the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10).
There can be joy in spite of the difficulties we are going through. Jesus taught us to rejoice in every situation (Luke 6:22-23). He endured the cross, scorning its shame, for “the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). Even though Paul wrote the book of Philippians from the Roman prison, he still wrote much about joy -- “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Also, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers” (Philippians 4:6, LB).
In difficult times, we are still to rejoice in faith. God can take our disappointments and change them into His appointments. A good slogan to help us rejoice in difficult times is as follows: “I will not worry … I will take it to God … I will let joy come into my heart.”
A parable story is told of a little fish in a big lake. A frog said, “Little fish, without water you are going to die.” The little fish went around saying the same thing and the other fish got nervous and afraid and said, “If there is no water, we are all going to die.” One day, they saw a big fish, which had escaped the fishermen of the area for all these years. He said, “Little fish, I’ve got good news for you. You were born in water, you have lived all your life in water and for as long as I can remember, there has always been water in this lake.” Let us remember that God has and will always take care of His own.
[Editor's Comment: I have known Dan Beller for decades. He has been my mentor and friend. I have often sought his wise counsel on matters of the church. He always had a word from the Lord and backed it with a Scripture that flowed out of his heart. When I was president of Southwestern College, now renamed Southwestern Christian University, he would always send me a note of thanks for my leadership to the college after he returned to his office in Tulsa following a board meeting. That good word often refreshed my spirit and bolstered my faith. It's a good thing to have good friends who love you and stick with you through thick and thin.]
Dr. David Fink, Psychiatrist for the Veteran’s Administration, gave an interesting report on 10,000 case studies. These people, who were mentally and emotionally “tied up,” asked Dr. Fink for some short, magic cure for nervousness. In his search for such a cure, he studied 2 groups:
The first group was made up of thousands of people who were suffering from mental and emotional disturbances.
The second group contained those who were free from such tensions.
Gradually, one fact began to stand out. Those who suffered from extreme tension had one trait in common -- they were habitual fault finders, constant critics of people and things around them. Whereas the men and women who were free of all tensions were the least fault finding and critical. It would seem that the habit of criticizing is a prelude to or mark of nervousness and imbalance.
One very short definition of joy is “The presence of God’s nature.” 2 Peter 1:4 teaches that we are partakers of God’s nature.
Joy is retained when we trust in the sovereign grace and mercy of God. It comes to us initially in salvation -- “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). “…the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10).
There can be joy in spite of the difficulties we are going through. Jesus taught us to rejoice in every situation (Luke 6:22-23). He endured the cross, scorning its shame, for “the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2). Even though Paul wrote the book of Philippians from the Roman prison, he still wrote much about joy -- “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Also, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers” (Philippians 4:6, LB).
In difficult times, we are still to rejoice in faith. God can take our disappointments and change them into His appointments. A good slogan to help us rejoice in difficult times is as follows: “I will not worry … I will take it to God … I will let joy come into my heart.”
A parable story is told of a little fish in a big lake. A frog said, “Little fish, without water you are going to die.” The little fish went around saying the same thing and the other fish got nervous and afraid and said, “If there is no water, we are all going to die.” One day, they saw a big fish, which had escaped the fishermen of the area for all these years. He said, “Little fish, I’ve got good news for you. You were born in water, you have lived all your life in water and for as long as I can remember, there has always been water in this lake.” Let us remember that God has and will always take care of His own.
[Editor's Comment: I have known Dan Beller for decades. He has been my mentor and friend. I have often sought his wise counsel on matters of the church. He always had a word from the Lord and backed it with a Scripture that flowed out of his heart. When I was president of Southwestern College, now renamed Southwestern Christian University, he would always send me a note of thanks for my leadership to the college after he returned to his office in Tulsa following a board meeting. That good word often refreshed my spirit and bolstered my faith. It's a good thing to have good friends who love you and stick with you through thick and thin.]