March 24 Devotion - Keeping our focus on Jesus

 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

ونحو نصف الليل كان بولس وسيلا يصلّيان ويسبحان الله والمسجونون يسمعون

The joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold.

فَفَرَحُ الرَّبِّ هُوَ قُوَّتُكُمْ

Acts 16:25, Nehemiah 8:10

The original Hebrew for "joy" in Nehemiah 8:10 is "chedvah," meaning joy or gladness. The root word for joy in this context means to rejoice or to make glad. "Strength" in the same verse is a Hebrew word meaning “a place or means of safety, protection refuge, or stronghold.”

So, what Nehemiah 8:10 is telling us is feel joyful because you feel safe and protected in God’s stronghold.

The joy of the Lord is a constant gladness and cause to rejoice. It stems from an inner strengthening from our relationship with Him.

I continue to learn that if I am not extremely careful, my emotions can and will govern my life.

God instructs us to keep our focus on Jesus in order to grow spiritually. When I succeed on doing that, the emotional ups and downs of this life will not shake or change my world.

In “Telling Yourself the Truth”, William Backus writes about joy:

“Joy comes from your relationship to God and His unchanging faithfulness. You don’t need to live in perfect circumstances to be happy. The Bible tells how two men of God, Paul and Silas, were brought before Roman authorities at Philippi and beaten with rods and then thrown into jail … But did Paul and Silas moan and complain, “If it weren’t for the cruelty of the unbelievers, we wouldn’t be wounded and bleeding. We’d be happy!” No.

Paul and Silas had a strong belief that transcended circumstances, events, people, feelings; it even transcended pain. That belief was in the person, power, and presence of Jesus Christ. They believed their suffering wasn’t as important as the message they carried …

They sang so loudly their voices were heard throughout the prison! And not only that, God … opened the prison doors for them. Their happiness came from the belief in Jesus Christ within them and not from circumstances around them.”

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, help me to kkeep my focus on the person, power, and presence of Jesus Christ in my life instead of the circumstances of my life. I thank You Jesus that You promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank You LORD that I have absolutely no doubt that You are in control of every second of my future and that through this assurance I can have an inner sense of peace that transcends all our human understanding. Thank You Father that You delight in showing me again and again that You are the source of my strength, my provision, my protection, and my ultimate joy in life. In the name of Your precious Son Jesus, I pray. To Jesus be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein