Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
“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.”
In our living room in a wall hanging made up of four planks of wood painted with colors of a beach and ocean motif: tan, blue, and yellow. Across the staves is written, “Choose Joy.” I once served with a student who led worship in Chapel and lived with exuberant joy. I know a number of students thought, “That’s got to be fake. No-one can be that nice and smiley.” Yet, knowing this student, their family story, their deep and abiding faith in Jesus, it was indeed an example of choosing joy. Consistently. Constantly. And honestly.
In this passage, God, through Nehemiah, is instructing his people to move from grief to joy. They have been negligent in truly following Yahweh, forgetting to read the scripture, ignoring His laws and ways. Yet, God reminds them to look back and see that they have actually accomplished some amazing things by His strength. They are rebuilding a huge wall around their holy city of Jerusalem. They have persevered through criticism, threats of violence, and just sheer fear and exhaustion. God is proud of them and reminds them to celebrate, even if they don’t presently feel it, choose joy.
The command of God seems strange to us. Go celebrate, enjoy good food and yummy drinks. How does that help? Sometimes we act in a way that directs our heart and mind to deeper truth. We cannot see beyond our circumstances or move pass the hurt or overcome the anxiety. We can become stuck, and though it is real, the pain and fear, God also is the source of gladness in the midst of the hard.
What does choosing joy today look like for you?