Sept21

............	A Word In Due Season Nov2021 11/1/21 THE JOY OF THE LORD IS STRENGTH Scripture: Nehemiah 8:10 "The joy of the Lord is your strength." The joy of the Lord within your heart gives you the strength that you need to face every situation, for it provides hope in every hardship. The joy of the Lord is a mysterious quality that enables you to endure temptations and complete the God ordained course for your life. Without the joy that comes from a steady relationship with the Lord, you will likely become weary in your journey and give up. The battle will become too hard to fight and the burden will be too great to bear. Even Jesus required joy to finish the work that God sent Him to do. Hebrew 12:2 says, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Isaiah 12:3 says, "Therefore, with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation." Joy is an instrument in your hands and is like a bucket that you would use to draw needed water from a well. You may stand by the well and know that the water is there, but you cannot draw the water up without joy in your spirit. You may know the promises of God's Word and recognize that the answer to your situation is available. Yet the answer is deep in the well and you will only be able to exercise the faith needed to receive the promise if you have the strength that joy gives. Joy is not magical and does not come automatically. It is a supernatural fruit of the Holy Spirit. Yet, the scriptures teach us that there are things that we can do to develop joy in our life. First, we must study God's Word. Jeremiah 15:16 says, "Thy Word was unto me the JOY and rejoicing of my heart." Without knowing the truth of God's Word, we cannot be free, and we certainly cannot experience joy when we are in bondage. Second, we must also seek out the presence of the Lord. David faced many difficult and adverse situations in his life, yet, he understood the source of his joy. In Psalms 16:11 he said, "In Thy presence is fullness of JOY; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." The third ingredient for joy is purity. David knew that he had to stay pure before the Lord if he wanted true joy in his life. In his prayer of repentance, David pleaded with God, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me ... Restore unto me the JOY of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit" (Psalms 51:10,12). He recognized that he had lost the joy of salvation when he had entered into sin. Jesus taught on another area of joy. He said that you must be faithful with your talents. He told a story of a steward who had been careful and faithful over his talents. His master said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the JOY of the Lord" (Matthew 25:21). Let your mind dwell on these four things that will create joy in your life; God's Word, God's presence, purity in the sight of God, and faithfulness in your stewardship. Begin to concentrate on developing these areas. As you do, the joy of the Lord will begin to grow in your heart and the fruit of it will produce new zeal and strength in your life. +++ Copyright © 2021 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com			..............................