Why the joy of the Lord is my strength

In full disclosure, I have had a hard time moving to Atlanta. I’m not sure how to explain it well, but the fast way is to say I’m never really happy. I love my boys and I enjoy doing fun things, but I find that I’m never smiling. I never feel filled with joy. I’m just kind of doing life right now.

I know a lot of it is transition and probably mourning the loss of our life in Seattle. But knowing this is normal doesn’t make it better. Some days when I’m in the shower I just stare at the wall and think “I have no motivation to do anything at all today.”

I’m sure you have been there. Whether you are going through a tough time or you are just an exhausted mom/student/employee, there are days we just don’t feel anything, the least of which is joy. It’s on those days that I think about the verse that says “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” And you know what I think? I think, “Yeah. Sure.” We hear this verse and assume that, by knowing Jesus, we should be filled with this inexplicable joy that just surges us forward in our day with renewed energy and delight. To instantly fix our problems. To battle depression. To gloss over real emotions that we have regarding real life situations. And when we don’t feel overwhelmed by joy and strength, we think something is wrong with us.

I do believe this kind of joy exists, that can fill us and overwhelm us. But I don’t think that’s what this verse is saying. Have you ever read it? It’s from a great book called Nehemiah. First, though, a very brief historical setting –

Go back to around 586 B.C. Israel as a nation disobeys God and disregards his law and is taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Years pass, many Jews settle into Babylon, make it their home, and start a family. Babylon, meanwhile, is defeated by Persia. The new Persian king decrees that anyone who wants to go back home to Jerusalem can (Read about it in the book of Daniel). Some do, most don’t. The ones that do go back rebuild the temple (read about it in the book of Ezra). That brings us to the story of Nehemiah. He was a second or third generation Israelite living in Persia. Not only does he live there, he works in the service of the king, Artaxerxes. He cares about Jerusalem and asks around one day to see how the progress of rebuilding the city and nation is going.  The men say, ““Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Neh. 1:3) This overwhelms Nehemiah with grief. He asks God to give him a way to go help, and then talks to the king, his boss. Artaxerxes lets him go back to Jerusalem. When Nehemiah gets there, he starts crafting a plan to rebuild the wall.  In ancient cities, a wall both figuratively and literally defined the city. Without a wall, you had no city. He chronicles his work and his struggles against a lot of opposition. Finally, the wall is rebuilt and he gathers all of the people living there to dedicate the wall.

Now, remember, these people have been separated from the way of their ancestors by generations. They have either been raised in another country, or they were the children of people left in a devastated Isreal because they weren’t important enough to be brought to Babylon. They don’t follow the law of God, but it is because they don’t even know it. They don’t even know their God has a standard of living for them. They have never heard it.

So during the dedication, Nehemiah has the priest Ezra read the law to the people and explain it. And here’s what it says (Nehemiah 8),

“Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.”For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

The people were weeping because they understood how much they had missed the heart of God. They had no idea how wrong they were living, and when they were faced with their sin, they mourned. They were saddened that they had turned away. They repented of the way they had lived. But then Nehemiah says the most amazing thing.

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.”

Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Do you understand how powerful this statement is in light of the context?? The people are convicted (as they should be). They are sad (as they should be). They are mourning and crying and trying to show God how sorry they are. And instead of letting them mourn, and cry, and punish themselves, God says, “This is a day to celebrate, not to mourn.” Why? Because he is filled with joy in this moment. His people came back to him. He never sees a repentant heart as a reason to be sad, but a reason to celebrate. And how were the people to wipe their eyes and get enough strength to celebrate? Because they knew that the Lord rejoiced over them.

The joy of the Lord in this verse is not some supernatural joy imparted to us. It is the joy the Lord feels over his people when they are running toward him. THAT is what gives us strength. When I posture my life and will toward him, it THRILLS him.

Now whenever I think of this verse, it holds a lot more meaning for me. No matter what I’m going through, how I’m feeling, or even when faced with things I have done, I can choose to ignore the self-pity and self-depricating thoughts that pop into my head because I know that my savior is rejoicing over me. The joy the Lord has over me gives me the strength to love myself, to be content with who I am, and my perceived shortcomings as a mom and wife. Does this mean I always feel joyful, or full of strength? No. But it does mean that if I am enough to make God smile, I am enough.

Go, therefore…

If you are a Christian, you know Matthew 28:19. We call it the Great Commission. It says,

“Go therefore into all the nations and make converts, telling them the Gospel briefly and then leaving.”

Wait.

That’s not what it says. It says make disciples. It says teach them to obey. To the chagrin of Missions walls in church foyers everywhere, I submit to you that going on a short term mission trip is not you fulfilling the Great Commission.  But often we interpret the Great Commission as a call to evangelism, and think, “well, if I do evangelize, and they do accept Jesus, then they are a disciple of Jesus so I’ve done my job right?”

Nope. The Great Commission isn’t calling you to tell people about Jesus. It is calling you to make disciples. Don’t get me wrong, evangelism and missions are both biblical commands of the utmost importance in our lives. As followers of Jesus, we do a great job of the obeying the Great Commandment – loving God and loving people. But we tend to miss the call of the Great Commission. God is telling you to make disciples – of you. As a disciple of Jesus, I don’t have to go out and make perfect little Jesus disciples. I get to start with making Emily disciples. And through that, they will also become Jesus disciples. I am to impart to them MY life, and the life of God and Spirit of God that is in me will be imparted to them.

My husband says it like this. Being a disciple-maker means coming up to someone and saying, “I want to come and be a servant of your life, a force of good in your life, and to help you do everything you dream about doing and become everything Jesus created you to be.”

Who would say no to that? But it takes time, love and perseverance on your part. And be encouraged, not everyone in your life will be your disciple. You will evangelize to people who are not your disciples, pray for people who are not your disciples, and even be in relationships with people who are not your disciples. Jesus ministered to a lot more than twelve people. But he just discipled them. Here are a few things to note about Jesus’ model of discipleship:

1. He lived real life with them. He let them see his true character in the ins and outs of his life, not just who he was in ministry.
2. He taught them in every day situations. He found teaching moments as he walked by a tree, or overlooked a city, or figuring out what to eat for lunch. Every moment was an opportunity to show a Kingdom principle.
3. He invited them into movement. They were to follow him in this movement of the Kingdom of Heaven smashing into the kingdom of earth and all the scary, crazy, amazing, wonderful things that came with that.
4. He saw Fishers of Men in fishermen. He saw beyond their brokenness into their heavenly identity and treated them as such.

Right about now, you may be thinking that discipleship is just impossible to do with young kids at home, or a full time job, or both. Here are a few practical ways I have found that discipling not only fits into my life as a mom, but actually continues to bless me.

Disciple your babysitter. She might know Jesus, and she might not. But the chances are that she doesn’t have anyone discipling her. When you and Mr. get home from your date, bring her home some ice cream and talk to her for 20 minutes on the couch before you take her home. She might not even know you are discipling her at first, but as she sees that you want to be a force for good in her life, and that you believe in her, she will start wanting to spend more time with you, calling you, coming to you with problems. Young people want discipleship, surprisingly.

Disciple a young girl from your church. I guarantee that if you go to the youth pastor at your church and say, “Hey, I have time to disciple one girl, who do you think is a good fit for me?”, they will have someone in mind. Take her grocery shopping, run errands with her. She can help with the kids and laugh when you try on something that looks horrible, and also be learning Kingdom principles by the way you mother your kids.

Disciple a friend who doesn’t know Jesus as well as you. Peer to peer mentorship is the most intimidating, because we feel like we have nothing to offer. But you do. All discipleship really means is to teach. When you are at coffee, just tell her what God has been saying to you in devotions. Tell her what the Spirit is doing in your marriage. Tell her how God has been influencing your parenting.

Discipleship takes work. It takes sacrifice. But it is THE last command Jesus gave to his disciples; THE most important thing he wanted them to do. It is, frankly, not an option in your walk with Jesus. If you aren’t discipling, you won’t grow. But it’s not about feeling bad for not doing something. It’s about YOU also stepping into everything God created you to do and to be. And when we are living in what God has called us to do and be, we are, in the end, the most blessed because we are living in our fulfillment.

We find our fulfillment as we come along someone and help them into their fulfillment.

Go therefore, and make disciples.

The glamorous life of disciple-making

Dream table

This is my dream dining table.

17th Cent. Monastery Table

It is from Restoration Hardware, as is most of my ‘dream’ furniture. I love everything about it.

I love how the chunky, masculine lines of the top are balanced with the feminine curves of the legs.

I love that is is fashioned after a 17th century Monastery table, where men of God gathered to commune together. I love the gray-washed wood. But more than anything, I love that it sits in our dining room as a monument that serves to remind us of why we are here.

When we were first putting together our church planting team, I was praying and asking God for anything – words, pictures, promises.  Instantly I saw a picture of one of our team members as “gold” and another as “fabric.”  I didn’t know what it meant but as I meditated on those pictures and asked for clarity, I was reminded of the tabernacle. The Old Testament predecessor to the temple. The portable House of God that the Israelites took with them in their wanderings.  Both gold and fabric were major components of the tabernacle.  I started asking God what other people on our team might be, and saw picture after picture – pillars, floor, lyre, candlestick, bells.  I don’t know if these words hold specific meaning for the different people, but the main picture was clear. We were going to be a House of God. Each person is a different piece used to build this house. And like the tabernacle, it is to be a house that goes wherever the Spirit leads. But also, wherever this house is, there the Spirit will be.

A few months later, I found my dream table at a RH Outlet store. It is originally $1400, at the outlet for $700, and 25% off of that. I knew the answer was most certainly ‘no’ but I called my husband anyways, just to see if we had, oh, an extra $500 somewhere. Without hesitation he said, “Get it.” He had just been the guest speaker at a camp and got paid $500. (Pause for how amazing and generous my husband is.) So, giddy as a schoolgirl, I bought this table – my first grown up piece of furniture. I imagined team meetings, huge dinners, birthday parties, bible studies, and simply life happening around this table.

As I was admiring it online one last time, I noticed something I had never seen before. This table is made out of acacia wood.

The same wood as the tabernacle.

God is so intentional. He not only gave me this amazing piece of furniture that I wanted for material reasons, but he infused it with meaning and reminders.

My house is His house.

We will go where the Spirit leads.

He is faithful and generous and kind and gives us beyond what we can ask or imagine.

And He must really like furniture made from acacia wood.