Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10.
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Psalm 51:12.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
I am filled with joy, always. I tell the faithful servant to come share My joy. My Kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. In My presence there is fullness of joy. I anointed Jesus with the oil of joy. He told you that He shared My Word with you so that His joy could be in you and your joy could be complete. It is second in the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. First is love, then is joy. And love, pure love, gives joy unspeakable filled with glory, because in pure love there is no darkness, sadness, or any unclean thing. It cannot find any place there.
I, the LORD your God am in your midst, the Mighty One, who saves you; I rejoice over you with gladness, I quiet you with My love, I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17.
When do you have joy? When you are with someone you love and when you are doing something you love. It is only in love that you have joy.
Do you see why I have joy and I give you joy and being with Me fills you with joy in My presence? I am love. And love gives you joy. Love makes life wonderful and precious. Without love there is no real joy.
So if you have been feeling depressed, down and sad you lack love in your life. If it is hard for you to face others, yourself, and Me, you have left your first love. You have lost love for people and/or your daily work or both. And you are no longer finding joy in My love for you. Your love has grown cold, like a dying ember on the hearth.
So what do you do? Fan it into flame. Not by human power or might but by My Spirit. I send forth My Spirit and they are created and I renew the face of the adamah. What you are formed from, the dust of the adamah. I breathe on you that fresh breath of My life giving Spirit and He gives life to your mortal bodies. And the early Christians though they suffered much persecution could not but be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
When the Israelites lost their joy they were saying: “Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.” Ezekiel 37:11. But do you remember how I made those bones moist and alive? I told My prophet Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones and say to them, “O dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD, thus says the Lord God to these bones, “Behold, I will cause Spirit to enter you that you may come to life.” Ezekiel 37:4-5. And as Ezekiel prophesied over the field of dry bones there was a noise as of rattling and the bones began to come together and sinews on them and flesh and skin, but as yet there was no spirit in them. Then I told Ezekiel: “Prophesy to the Spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the Spirit, “Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.” Ezekiel 37:8-9. So Ezekiel prophesied as I told him to do over his vision and the Spirit came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet! And then I told Ezekiel to say to the Israelites whose joy was gone in their affliction from the enemy: “Thus says the Lord God, “Behold I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves My people and bring you back to the land of Israel. I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land!” Ezekiel 37:12-14.
My Spirit brought dry bones to be a living strong people. My Spirit brought them up out of the grave. My Spirit in them gave them new life. A life of freedom and joy.
Let Me breathe on you. My Son did on His disciples. He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Let Me fill you with that breath of joy– My Holy Spirit.
I turn desert places in your life where your joy seems dried up and gone to a Garden of Eden by pouring out My Spirit upon them. In My Son you have eaten from the tree of eternal life so the way to Eden is no longer blocked to you. Won’t you enter?
On Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended as wind and fire and set the believers in the upper room so aflame with joy that the crowd accused them of being drunk!
Paul wrote to Timothy: “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirt of cowardice but of power and love and self-control.” Fan it into flame. How? By giving the Spirit utterance in you. Tongues. Pray in tongues. Let the Spirit pray in you and be built up, edified, in your most holy faith. One who speaks in tongues edifies himself. 1 Corinthians 14:2. With joy you shall draw water at the springs of Salvation!
I am your strength and your song. And My joy is your strength. Love gives you joy and joy makes you strong.
I have given you My Spirit and I give Him without measure. Drink the life giving water of the Holy Spirit that My Son pours out on you. I always tell you that I pour out My Spirit. My Spirit is living water flowing from My throne. If you are thirsty come and drink without cost. He is better than the finest wine. That is My love. I pour it into your hearts by My gift of the Holy Spirit. And love gives you joy all the day.
Abide in My Love and you will know joy. A joy no man can take from you. Resurrection joy. Spirit filled. Love and joy are the first two fruit of the Holy Spirit set out by Me for your edification. Let love be your living fountain all the day.
I love you and I am Love. Enjoy My gift of the Holy Spirit and let Me pour that living water in all your dry places. Let Me anoint you with the oil of joy in place of your spirit of mourning. I promised you that in Jesus. Isaiah 61:3. Joy unspeakable and filled with glory.