Joy Part 2: The Journey to Joy

Let’s begin with the truth about God’s calling. It may not always come in audible words from Him. We spend a lot of time being tortured by the thought of what if, but let's take a look at the Book of Nehemiah, which is recorded as his memoir (Nehemiah 1:1). One of his brothers and some other men came to visit him and told him about the devastation within the province of Judah and the wall of Jerusalem being torn down. Nehemiah responded with weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying (Nehemiah 1:4). 

By the time we make it to the end of Chapter 1, Nehemiah is asking the Lord for favor from the King. You see, he was a cupbearer, and to my understanding, it was dangerous for him to ask the King to leave to help his people. Hence, the divine need for favor. In this portion of the text, we do not see an audible call from God as in other stories, such as those of Abraham and Moses. Instead, we see a weeping, mourning, fasting, and praying Nehemiah call upon the Lord.

Nehemiah gave his sad and heavy heart to the Lord and was bold enough to ask for something far above his pay grade. Favor from a King who could have killed him just for asking was a bold, far-fetched request. But as soon as we flip to Chapter 2, we see the King take notice of Nehemiah’s sadness and ask in vs. 4, “Well, how can I help you?” (NLT) 

This is just the beginning of God answering the prayers of Nehemiah and he didn’t waste time riding the merry-go-round of what-ifs. He didn’t say but Lord I’m just a cup bearer. He felt a burden for his people and made a bold request in an effort to respond to that burden. The way God speaks to each one of us can be entirely different, but the consistent theme is His faithfulness in responding to the prayers of his people. The journey to joy in Nehemiah’s story is beautiful, and so is yours. 

Do remember how I mentioned embracing joy last week? I want you to do that through boldness. What weighs heavily on you that you’ve yet to take to the Lord? What did you write down as ways to embrace joy? If you haven’t done that yet then now is the perfect opportunity to take a moment, sit before the Lord, and make a bold move. It just might lead to joy in ways you’ve yet to imagine. 

Read Nehemiah, Chapter 1, and look at how he allows himself to experience difficult emotions, acknowledges the Lord’s commands and faithfulness, and makes a bold request. Consider this part of the joy essentials list. 

Part 3: Essential Components of Joy will be available next week