Nehemiah said, Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have
nothing prepared.
This day is holy to our Lord.
Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
– Nehemiah 8.10
Picture the scene.
God's people had just heard Scripture read out loud for the first time in generations,
and they wept.
Guilt, probably.
Regret over all those wasted years.
And Nehemiah's response was to send them home to eat good food, drink something sweet,
and to share with anybody who had nothing.
Celebration was the assignment.
The joy of the Lord is your strength.
It's structural.
It's the thing that's holding you up when your own energy gives out somewhere around,
I don't know, three in the afternoon, and you're staring into the pantry hoping for
a miracle.
So when you're running low today, stop digging around for more willpower to feel better.
Turn toward Him instead.
His joy does what your effort can't, and He gives it freely.
What I want you to do today is do one small thing today purely because it brings you joy.