Loud Joy

In the book of Nehemiah, when the people dedicated the wall around Jerusalem that God had marvelously helped them build, there was a glorious worship service. Nehemiah records of their praises, "And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away" Nehemiah 12:43b. Apparently, the trumpets and singing and sacrifices and praise carried far off into the hearing of their pagan neighbors.

If there is anything that demonstrates the reality and goodness of the Sovereign, Living God it is His people's joy. In Nehemiah 8:10 the people were exhorted, "...the joy of the Lord is your strength." Why is the joy of God's people so important?

• Joy is the outward statement to the world that God is good and God is all satisfying. Gloomy Christians are sandwich boards with the message, "God is a joy robber," or "Life with Christ is depleting." Joy from the heart and on the face and in the voice of believers says, "God is the source of true happiness and satisfaction," and "Come, taste and see that the Lord is good." Is there a greater witness of the God of the gospel than joy?
• Joy is the fuel of a life of constant celebration. The world around us says, "Party!" But if you have ever been a part of these parties, there's plenty of pretending going on in the effort to convince the participants that real satisfaction is taking place. If you blow air into a human's stomach they will feel full, but do it long enough and they will at the same time starve to death. Blow the substitute "happiness" of this world into the body and soul of a man or woman (sex outside of a committed marriage relationship, anesthetizing drugs, fantasy in a thousand forms, money, "success", etc.) and they will at the moment feel full, but at the same time they will be starving to death for what they were made for...WHO they were made for.
• Joy has HOPE in it. As the Jews celebrated God's sovereign hand in helping them build the wall in the face of opposition, they were also encouraged to believe that this same God would CONTINUE to be their help. Loud expressions of joy steady up the heart for the future because they focus us squarely on God, the source of our hope.

When you are worshiping in your church with your fellow believers, do you dare SHOW your joy? When you are chatting with your neighbor, do you allow them to see your joy or to hear about the Source of it? Could it be that at the bottom of your soul weakness is a failure or refusal to see what God has been doing in your life and to respond to it with loud joy? Loud joy is not obnoxious, it merely gives the heart's overflowing response to God's grace an outlet.

May the joy of your heart be heard far away...for God's glory and your good and your neighbor's salvation.