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If you've been on this journey with God for any amount of time, you know that your joy is always under attack. Just when you think you've overcome one obstacle and you're hitting your stride, the enemy comes with a blindside from nowhere. Many times the fight comes from places you never expected.
But here's what we need to understand: the enemy wants to divide and conquer. He needs division in order to conquer. When there's a fight or a war between two parties, if you ask both sides, usually neither wants to fight. Both say, "I just want to do the right thing." So why are we fighting?
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces.
We forget this. We put a face to our fight, but it's not a face we're fighting—it's a spirit. When you remind yourself of this, you stop warring with an individual or group and start saying, "God, if I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight in the spirit, because I can't fight a spirit in my flesh. I can only win a spiritual war in the spirit."
Richard Ragnar said, "Joy is not in things; it is in us." We must remind ourselves that joy isn't in our condition, circumstances, or the success we have in relationships, business, or careers. Our joy is in the relationship we have internally with God.
When I say "protect your joy," the enemy immediately whispers, "Step away from people." That's his goal every time. He wants division. But you must learn what it means to protect your joy without breaking unity.
This is how: Make it a resolve within yourself that no human is your enemy. No person is your enemy. If there's a war coming between you and your brother or sister, arrest it immediately. If you let it fester, that little seed turns into a tree, and now you have to chop things down just to get it right.
You cannot expect God to show up if you're perpetuating a spirit of division. Unity has to start with your hands reaching out first.
The people in Nehemiah understood this. They came together unified and asked Ezra to read the book of the law. They had just rebuilt the wall and knew that if they were going to establish themselves, they needed God's word. They had a hunger to silence the voice of the culture and hear God's word instead.
They recognized: if we're going to live by a set of rules, it has to be by the word of God, not rules we created ourselves.
In Deuteronomy 8:3, God explains why we need His word:
He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone. Rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
God is teaching you that you don't live by food alone—you live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. When you don't know the word, it explains why you don't feel fully alive. You need God's word to show you who you are and whose you are.
In Nehemiah 8:2, we see something powerful: the assembly included men, women, and children old enough to understand. There's so much power in the family reading and worshiping together.
Ask yourself this question: Am I leaving my family behind as I grow in God?
My mother taught me this. She didn't leave it to the church to teach us God's word. She would gather us on Saturday nights and teach us Sunday school herself. She said, "Because just in case they don't teach it well enough or you don't get the lesson tomorrow, I want to make sure I'm spending time with you. As I'm growing, I don't want to leave you behind."
This convicted me in my own life. One night I was studying the word and praying, and I'd sent my kids to bed. It hit me: Am I spending equally as much time ministering to my children as I am ministering to you? You are not my first assignment. My kids are. I can't dare speak to you about Jesus more than I speak to my son and daughter about His love and blood.
Mom and Dad, ask yourselves: Are you leaving your children behind? Maybe if we took more time taking kids off tablets and phones and spent time in the word together, they could learn about Jesus and be like Him. But you can't leave this responsibility to the church and children's teachers. God originally assigned this to parents.
Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." He didn't put it on the church or pastor. He said his entire family would grow together. It has to be a group effort. Are you pouring into your children or leaving them behind?
Ezra read from early morning until noon—six hours straight. And the people listened closely. They were hungry for God.
Why do we think this is different from our churches today? Some say, "If you read too much scripture and don't motivate me enough, I'm done. If you go past 40 minutes, I'm creeping out the back." But they stood in God's presence and listened to His word for six hours because they were hungry.
They were willing to put aside their schedules and the things they had to do after church to say, "If I need to stand in God's presence to make sure my family is healthy, whole, and healed, I will do that."
When Ezra opened the book, all the people rose to their feet. Ezra praised the Lord, and all the people chanted, "Amen, Amen." They lifted their hands and bowed down to worship with their faces to the ground.
In biblical times, bowing was the appropriate sign of honor and respect when entering the presence of someone who deserved reverence. It's called obeisance—a sign of respect. Even today in certain African cultures, when you approach someone great, you naturally bow and touch the floor. It's not saying they're better than you; it's saying I honor who you are and the authority you walk in.
In Hebrew, the word for worship literally means "to bow down." This reveals to us that we cannot worship without changing our posture.
Now, I'm not merely speaking of physical posture, though that matters. I'm also speaking about the posture of your heart. How can you worship God when you know you're not surrendering anything? How can you worship when God is telling you there's something you need to let go of and you're refusing? How can you call that worship?
I cannot call it worship if my heart has not surrendered. If the posture of my heart has not changed.
In a culture where we have lost honor, we have to instruct people on how to honor God's presence. We don't regard anything as holy or sacred anymore. We make jokes about Jesus, about God, about everything. Nothing is reverent.
But worship isn't sitting still or being comfortable. Worship is saying, "I get uncomfortable. I bow down. I show God He is worth my worship. He's worth me changing my posture to honor Him."
When you stand before a king, standing means you claim equality. So when a person comes before a king, they must bow until the king says they can stand. By bowing, they respect the king's authority and acknowledge he holds a higher seat.
When you come before God, surrender looks like this. But here's the difference: God doesn't want any worship that He has to force. If He has to make you worship, He doesn't even want it. God is looking for worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. That's why God has to look for worshippers—we're hard to find.
It's hard to find people who will willingly get on their knees and say, "God, it's not about me. I'm just here to worship. It doesn't matter who's looking. It doesn't matter how crazy I look. When I come before Your presence, I bow. You don't have to make me. I choose to worship."
Nehemiah 8:8 says they read the book of the law and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping people understand each passage.
Going to a church where you actually understand matters. You don't just go to church to say you went and then leave not knowing what the pastor was talking about. You have to get to a place where you understand.
Proverbs 4:7 says: the beginning of wisdom is to get wisdom. And though it cost you everything you have, get understanding. It may cost you. It may cost you family approval. You may have to separate from where your family goes. But you have to get to a place where you understand. You cannot grow in something you do not understand.
If your current church home isn't helping you understand, it's okay to find a different place where you do. You're already going. You're already making time. Make sure it counts.
When Ezra read the law, the people wept. They realized they had not been obeying God at all. They understood why they were in captivity. There should always be times when reading God's word calls you out and convicts you about the life you've been living.
This is conviction. When you're reading God's word, something should grab you and say, "Hold up, God. I have not been submitted to you."
When I read Ephesians and it says, "Honor your mother and father," I felt called out. God convicted me because now I had to honor someone I didn't want to honor. That's conviction. That's submitting your will to God's word.
If you are not finding conviction when reading the Bible, I'm questioning what you're reading. Maybe the deeper fight is we're not finding conviction because we're not reading the Bible.
Conviction is godly sorrow as a result of a guilty conscience. It's a sense of guilt that leads to repentance. This is the only kind of sorrow God wants you to have, because it ultimately leads to joy.
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Godly sorrow is when you read God's word and realize, "That's why my life has been messed up. I've been living in lust and God is telling me to come out. I've been giving my body to different people and God is telling me to stop. I've been in adultery and God is telling me to honor my covenant and marriage. I've lacked finances because I've been dishonoring God with my finances. My home is in disarray because I've been letting false gods and idols in. Maybe I need to submit my whole house to God's kingdom."
They were weeping because they realized, "God, we haven't been doing any of this. We've been going by our own messages, not by Your word. Maybe we need to get back to God's word."
But then something powerful happens. Nehemiah says, "Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks. Share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before the Lord."
Listen carefully: he told them to stop the sorrow. Sometimes we carry sorrow too long. When conviction stays too long, it turns to condemnation. Conviction is when it comes to your door. Condemnation is when it lives in your house.
It's okay to say, "God, I was wrong," and correct your behavior. But to live in condemnation is to assume the identity of being wrong forever.
They had been weeping just two verses before, but now they're eating and celebrating. Think about it: Be grateful that God gave you a chance to get it right. Give God praise that He didn't let you die in your mess. Give God glory that you could have died in your sin, but somehow God gave you an opportunity to find your way to Jesus. Now that you know mercy and grace, you can have joy and celebrate the fact that you are free indeed.
After you make a mistake, repent and keep moving. Don't sit and continue to make yourself feel bad for something God has forgiven you for. Let it go.
I hate seeing this in church more than anywhere else: when a person has committed a sin, everybody wants them to explain what they did. You tell 15 other people, and now they're making you relive and rehash your mistake to boost their ego, not knowing their time is coming next.
Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, unless you also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
Let this stuff go.
Notice the heart of God in this scripture: even while they were celebrating, they were instructed to give to those who had no food. The nature of God will always challenge you to give.
Ain't that something? God says, "Don't be sorrowful. Go celebrate, get some food, get some drinks. Hey, and by the way, find people who don't have anything and give to them."
We hear about sweet drinks and food and miss the people. You're already ready to cook—it sounds like Thanksgiving. But on the way to celebrating, go help somebody who doesn't have what you have.
Your blessing is not only for you. God blesses you trusting that you're going to bless somebody else.
Nehemiah 8:10 says: "Don't be dejected or sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Joy is not the absence of pain, but the presence of God in the struggle.
This is why you see people going through stuff and they're still shouting. How in the world could they be worshiping during a time like this? How could you lift your hands knowing what your family is going through, what your body is going through, what your kids are going through, what your mind is going through?
They're not worshiping because things are all good. They're worshiping because they have God. They have God on the inside. Maybe they can't see how they're coming out of it, but they believe that all things work together for good. They're trusting that God has their back. It may not look good right now. They can't map out how God will turn it around, but they fully believe He will.
Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing and yet we have everything. (2 Corinthians 6:10)
You can experience joy while going through. You don't have to say, "Once I'm out of this storm, I'll have joy. Once I'm finally over this, I'll have joy. Once I finally get past this..."
No. You can experience joy right now in the worst and craziest time in your life:
You can still have joy.
If joy equals strength, then sorrow equals weakness. This is why the enemy is always trying to attack your joy and get you into a place of sorrow. If he can get you into sorrow, he can derail you every time.
Some natural benefits of joy:
So when scripture says "the joy of the Lord is your strength," it literally means it. You have to live in joy. Joy in itself is a protection mechanism. When you live in joy, the attacks of the enemy that worked before don't work anymore.
Notice how stuff doesn't bother you when you're joyful. Let your kid be crying when you're joyful—you don't even hear them. You're in there laughing. But let you be frustrated and sorrowful, and you come in saying, "Why are you always whining? I gave you everything you wanted. You're so spoiled. Go to bed." Now you're angry.
Something that wouldn't have bothered you before is now destroying your spirit because joy is a shield. Joy is a protection mechanism. Your joy stops the enemy's attacks from working.
Nehemiah 8:12 says: "So the people went away to eat and drink at the festive meal to share gifts of food and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God's words and understood them."
They were just weeping and crying because of shame and conviction, but now they're celebrating in joy. How powerful: joy is not just for the perfect. It's also for the forgiven.
It's not just for those of you who did everything right this year. It's also for all of you who did everything wrong this year and know that God gave you another chance.
Psalms 32:1-2 (the Psalm of David) says:
Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight. My God, yes. What joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty.
Isn't it powerful that you can live in honesty now? All of the guilt, shame, and mistakes—everything you did, everything you had to hide, everything you were ashamed of, everything you couldn't tell anybody, everything you had to keep secret, all the stuff you tried to keep tucked away because people would judge you and not understand—all of your record has been cleared of guilt.
What joy for those who know they don't have to hide in their mistakes anymore, but can live in the light of Jesus. You are a new creation in Him.
If you've been on this journey with God for any amount of time, you know that your joy is always under attack. Just when you think you've overcome one obstacle and you're hitting your stride, the enemy comes with a blindside from nowhere. Many times the fight comes from places you never expected.
But here's what we need to understand: the enemy wants to divide and conquer. He needs division in order to conquer. When there's a fight or a war between two parties, if you ask both sides, usually neither wants to fight. Both say, "I just want to do the right thing." So why are we fighting?
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces.
We forget this. We put a face to our fight, but it's not a face we're fighting—it's a spirit. When you remind yourself of this, you stop warring with an individual or group and start saying, "God, if I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight in the spirit, because I can't fight a spirit in my flesh. I can only win a spiritual war in the spirit."
Richard Ragnar said, "Joy is not in things; it is in us." We must remind ourselves that joy isn't in our condition, circumstances, or the success we have in relationships, business, or careers. Our joy is in the relationship we have internally with God.
When I say "protect your joy," the enemy immediately whispers, "Step away from people." That's his goal every time. He wants division. But you must learn what it means to protect your joy without breaking unity.
This is how: Make it a resolve within yourself that no human is your enemy. No person is your enemy. If there's a war coming between you and your brother or sister, arrest it immediately. If you let it fester, that little seed turns into a tree, and now you have to chop things down just to get it right.
You cannot expect God to show up if you're perpetuating a spirit of division. Unity has to start with your hands reaching out first.
The people in Nehemiah understood this. They came together unified and asked Ezra to read the book of the law. They had just rebuilt the wall and knew that if they were going to establish themselves, they needed God's word. They had a hunger to silence the voice of the culture and hear God's word instead.
They recognized: if we're going to live by a set of rules, it has to be by the word of God, not rules we created ourselves.
In Deuteronomy 8:3, God explains why we need His word:
He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone. Rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
God is teaching you that you don't live by food alone—you live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. When you don't know the word, it explains why you don't feel fully alive. You need God's word to show you who you are and whose you are.
In Nehemiah 8:2, we see something powerful: the assembly included men, women, and children old enough to understand. There's so much power in the family reading and worshiping together.
Ask yourself this question: Am I leaving my family behind as I grow in God?
My mother taught me this. She didn't leave it to the church to teach us God's word. She would gather us on Saturday nights and teach us Sunday school herself. She said, "Because just in case they don't teach it well enough or you don't get the lesson tomorrow, I want to make sure I'm spending time with you. As I'm growing, I don't want to leave you behind."
This convicted me in my own life. One night I was studying the word and praying, and I'd sent my kids to bed. It hit me: Am I spending equally as much time ministering to my children as I am ministering to you? You are not my first assignment. My kids are. I can't dare speak to you about Jesus more than I speak to my son and daughter about His love and blood.
Mom and Dad, ask yourselves: Are you leaving your children behind? Maybe if we took more time taking kids off tablets and phones and spent time in the word together, they could learn about Jesus and be like Him. But you can't leave this responsibility to the church and children's teachers. God originally assigned this to parents.
Joshua said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." He didn't put it on the church or pastor. He said his entire family would grow together. It has to be a group effort. Are you pouring into your children or leaving them behind?
Ezra read from early morning until noon—six hours straight. And the people listened closely. They were hungry for God.
Why do we think this is different from our churches today? Some say, "If you read too much scripture and don't motivate me enough, I'm done. If you go past 40 minutes, I'm creeping out the back." But they stood in God's presence and listened to His word for six hours because they were hungry.
They were willing to put aside their schedules and the things they had to do after church to say, "If I need to stand in God's presence to make sure my family is healthy, whole, and healed, I will do that."
When Ezra opened the book, all the people rose to their feet. Ezra praised the Lord, and all the people chanted, "Amen, Amen." They lifted their hands and bowed down to worship with their faces to the ground.
In biblical times, bowing was the appropriate sign of honor and respect when entering the presence of someone who deserved reverence. It's called obeisance—a sign of respect. Even today in certain African cultures, when you approach someone great, you naturally bow and touch the floor. It's not saying they're better than you; it's saying I honor who you are and the authority you walk in.
In Hebrew, the word for worship literally means "to bow down." This reveals to us that we cannot worship without changing our posture.
Now, I'm not merely speaking of physical posture, though that matters. I'm also speaking about the posture of your heart. How can you worship God when you know you're not surrendering anything? How can you worship when God is telling you there's something you need to let go of and you're refusing? How can you call that worship?
I cannot call it worship if my heart has not surrendered. If the posture of my heart has not changed.
In a culture where we have lost honor, we have to instruct people on how to honor God's presence. We don't regard anything as holy or sacred anymore. We make jokes about Jesus, about God, about everything. Nothing is reverent.
But worship isn't sitting still or being comfortable. Worship is saying, "I get uncomfortable. I bow down. I show God He is worth my worship. He's worth me changing my posture to honor Him."
When you stand before a king, standing means you claim equality. So when a person comes before a king, they must bow until the king says they can stand. By bowing, they respect the king's authority and acknowledge he holds a higher seat.
When you come before God, surrender looks like this. But here's the difference: God doesn't want any worship that He has to force. If He has to make you worship, He doesn't even want it. God is looking for worshippers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. That's why God has to look for worshippers—we're hard to find.
It's hard to find people who will willingly get on their knees and say, "God, it's not about me. I'm just here to worship. It doesn't matter who's looking. It doesn't matter how crazy I look. When I come before Your presence, I bow. You don't have to make me. I choose to worship."
Nehemiah 8:8 says they read the book of the law and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping people understand each passage.
Going to a church where you actually understand matters. You don't just go to church to say you went and then leave not knowing what the pastor was talking about. You have to get to a place where you understand.
Proverbs 4:7 says: the beginning of wisdom is to get wisdom. And though it cost you everything you have, get understanding. It may cost you. It may cost you family approval. You may have to separate from where your family goes. But you have to get to a place where you understand. You cannot grow in something you do not understand.
If your current church home isn't helping you understand, it's okay to find a different place where you do. You're already going. You're already making time. Make sure it counts.
When Ezra read the law, the people wept. They realized they had not been obeying God at all. They understood why they were in captivity. There should always be times when reading God's word calls you out and convicts you about the life you've been living.
This is conviction. When you're reading God's word, something should grab you and say, "Hold up, God. I have not been submitted to you."
When I read Ephesians and it says, "Honor your mother and father," I felt called out. God convicted me because now I had to honor someone I didn't want to honor. That's conviction. That's submitting your will to God's word.
If you are not finding conviction when reading the Bible, I'm questioning what you're reading. Maybe the deeper fight is we're not finding conviction because we're not reading the Bible.
Conviction is godly sorrow as a result of a guilty conscience. It's a sense of guilt that leads to repentance. This is the only kind of sorrow God wants you to have, because it ultimately leads to joy.
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Godly sorrow is when you read God's word and realize, "That's why my life has been messed up. I've been living in lust and God is telling me to come out. I've been giving my body to different people and God is telling me to stop. I've been in adultery and God is telling me to honor my covenant and marriage. I've lacked finances because I've been dishonoring God with my finances. My home is in disarray because I've been letting false gods and idols in. Maybe I need to submit my whole house to God's kingdom."
They were weeping because they realized, "God, we haven't been doing any of this. We've been going by our own messages, not by Your word. Maybe we need to get back to God's word."
But then something powerful happens. Nehemiah says, "Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks. Share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before the Lord."
Listen carefully: he told them to stop the sorrow. Sometimes we carry sorrow too long. When conviction stays too long, it turns to condemnation. Conviction is when it comes to your door. Condemnation is when it lives in your house.
It's okay to say, "God, I was wrong," and correct your behavior. But to live in condemnation is to assume the identity of being wrong forever.
They had been weeping just two verses before, but now they're eating and celebrating. Think about it: Be grateful that God gave you a chance to get it right. Give God praise that He didn't let you die in your mess. Give God glory that you could have died in your sin, but somehow God gave you an opportunity to find your way to Jesus. Now that you know mercy and grace, you can have joy and celebrate the fact that you are free indeed.
After you make a mistake, repent and keep moving. Don't sit and continue to make yourself feel bad for something God has forgiven you for. Let it go.
I hate seeing this in church more than anywhere else: when a person has committed a sin, everybody wants them to explain what they did. You tell 15 other people, and now they're making you relive and rehash your mistake to boost their ego, not knowing their time is coming next.
Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, unless you also be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
Let this stuff go.
Notice the heart of God in this scripture: even while they were celebrating, they were instructed to give to those who had no food. The nature of God will always challenge you to give.
Ain't that something? God says, "Don't be sorrowful. Go celebrate, get some food, get some drinks. Hey, and by the way, find people who don't have anything and give to them."
We hear about sweet drinks and food and miss the people. You're already ready to cook—it sounds like Thanksgiving. But on the way to celebrating, go help somebody who doesn't have what you have.
Your blessing is not only for you. God blesses you trusting that you're going to bless somebody else.
Nehemiah 8:10 says: "Don't be dejected or sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Joy is not the absence of pain, but the presence of God in the struggle.
This is why you see people going through stuff and they're still shouting. How in the world could they be worshiping during a time like this? How could you lift your hands knowing what your family is going through, what your body is going through, what your kids are going through, what your mind is going through?
They're not worshiping because things are all good. They're worshiping because they have God. They have God on the inside. Maybe they can't see how they're coming out of it, but they believe that all things work together for good. They're trusting that God has their back. It may not look good right now. They can't map out how God will turn it around, but they fully believe He will.
Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing and yet we have everything. (2 Corinthians 6:10)
You can experience joy while going through. You don't have to say, "Once I'm out of this storm, I'll have joy. Once I'm finally over this, I'll have joy. Once I finally get past this..."
No. You can experience joy right now in the worst and craziest time in your life:
You can still have joy.
If joy equals strength, then sorrow equals weakness. This is why the enemy is always trying to attack your joy and get you into a place of sorrow. If he can get you into sorrow, he can derail you every time.
Some natural benefits of joy:
So when scripture says "the joy of the Lord is your strength," it literally means it. You have to live in joy. Joy in itself is a protection mechanism. When you live in joy, the attacks of the enemy that worked before don't work anymore.
Notice how stuff doesn't bother you when you're joyful. Let your kid be crying when you're joyful—you don't even hear them. You're in there laughing. But let you be frustrated and sorrowful, and you come in saying, "Why are you always whining? I gave you everything you wanted. You're so spoiled. Go to bed." Now you're angry.
Something that wouldn't have bothered you before is now destroying your spirit because joy is a shield. Joy is a protection mechanism. Your joy stops the enemy's attacks from working.
Nehemiah 8:12 says: "So the people went away to eat and drink at the festive meal to share gifts of food and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God's words and understood them."
They were just weeping and crying because of shame and conviction, but now they're celebrating in joy. How powerful: joy is not just for the perfect. It's also for the forgiven.
It's not just for those of you who did everything right this year. It's also for all of you who did everything wrong this year and know that God gave you another chance.
Psalms 32:1-2 (the Psalm of David) says:
Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight. My God, yes. What joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty.
Isn't it powerful that you can live in honesty now? All of the guilt, shame, and mistakes—everything you did, everything you had to hide, everything you were ashamed of, everything you couldn't tell anybody, everything you had to keep secret, all the stuff you tried to keep tucked away because people would judge you and not understand—all of your record has been cleared of guilt.
What joy for those who know they don't have to hide in their mistakes anymore, but can live in the light of Jesus. You are a new creation in Him.
