December 16, 2025

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT: JOY

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“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)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

What is this occasion upon which Nehemiah, the former cupbearer of he King of Babylon and Persia and now Governor of Israel, made the declaration “Do not grieve, the joy of the Lord is your strength.”? Against seemingly impossible odds because so many in Israel opposed the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, the walls were rebuilt. The gates were set back in place. Families had joined together and made their personal investment of time and energy to bring strength back to the city. Yes, there was opposition to restoring Jerusalem because those who opposed it had used the time of despair for their own advantage. They had eschewed faithfulness to God to become like their foreign oppressors and placed burdens upon those who were “domestic” exiles. They had embraced a sense of entitlement though they themselves were still considered exiles and subjects of foreign governments. For there to be a return to God all of what they had done and were doing would have to be surrendered to the ways of righteousness. What we learn from Ezra, the Teacher, and Nehemiah, the Governor, is that the “hearing of the Word of God is sufficient to transform lives.” When the walls were finished, the gates set in place and the city secured against attack, Ezra was commanded to begin to read the Word of God which had been given first to Moses. The people stood, listened and wept as the Word was presented to them with reading and instruction. They fell into grief having heard it, some of them for the very first time, and seeing with their mind’s eye the glory of God as it was intended to be known in all the earth. They recognized the distance between truth and reality in their own lives. They began to realize just how desperate they were for the life which God had promised from the beginning. Despite all their efforts, living that life was impossible without God’s intervention. That realization humbled the people gathered that day in Jerusalem from the rich and powerful whose influence was significant to the poor and lowly who desire for peace was great. To this Nehemiah declared with confidence, “Do not grieve. The joy of the Lord is your strength.“

It was a declaration of confidence and trust in the promise of God which Nehemiah invoked that day. It put an exclamation point on the call of God over the lives of God’s people, the entire world, and the people of God, those who accepted His call on their lives to obey and follow the call to righteousness. It was a call to repentance that each and every person needed to hear and follow through. It was a word that was intended to be shared with all the world not unlike the Great Commission which Jesus gave to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God. Mighty ones, as we go deeper into this Advent season, it must be with that sense of joy as our strength. What we do in this season of preparation for the arrival of the King of kings and Lord of lords is not for our benefit but for the benefit of the world beyond us and all around us. The true wall of protection is putting our faith, hope and love into the hands of God. He will shape and mold them into a life of spiritual prosperity which the world cannot give. It is that truth which Jesus spoke to the disciples in the Upper Room when He said “Peace I give you not as the world gives do I give you peace.” Hear, mighty ones of God, the blending now of these elements out of which authentic living is given: faith, peace and joy. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul wrote, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10.17) It seems that the “message” is clear. When the word of God is not read “aloud,” then the people do not truly listen. It is not about reading to yourself, though there is value in it. It is about reading and hearing the Word of God read with spirit and truth that brings the greatest impact and change. Think about how “the Word of God” is presented in the world today, especially in the season of Christmas. It exists in bits and pieces with asides and inuendoes. There are flavors and tastings of God’s Word as if it is an acceptable smorgasbord from which we can take only what we would choose that appeals to us. We exchange gifts that warm the heart but too often only because it meets a physical and emotional need in our lives. We invest too much in the celebration of giving to receive until our own resources are stretched. It is then we cry out to God to help us out of our desperate need into which we had cast ourselves. Where is the investment of giving to give so that the truth of God’s word of salvation again takes first place in our lives as individuals and as a community. It surprises me little that there is little joy and what joy there is is fleeting only to be replaced by another pursuit. To follow Nehemiah’s words “Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength,” I might ask us to hear “Grieve because you refuse to let the joy of the Lord to be your strength.” It is time for change, mighty ones of God. It is time to bring the joy of our salvation to the front of our celebration.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.