Guelph Vineyard Church

Nehemiah, an often overlooked book in the Bible, contains this beautiful phrase: "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Encouraging, right? It should be! The context of this passage is super intriguing. The people of Israel have just rediscovered the scriptures, realize how far they have strayed from the intentions of God, and they are heartbroken. They're mourning. They're feeling beat down and like failures.Into the middle of their tears, interrupting their disappointment in themselves, come the words "This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” They are renewed, their capacity is renewed and a seven day party gets started.(Inner)"strength" and "maturity" are words that go together pretty naturally in my experience. Have we often considered that "joy" and "strength" are woven closely together as well? Taking this a step further, what about "joy" and "maturity"?