Nehemiah 8:10

Rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.


It's so easy to get caught up in a perpetual pity party for ourselves in which we seem to constantly dwell on the negative things in our lives and on our problems.  Our prayer life can turn into a laundry list of things that we want God to do for us instead of counting the blessings that he has provided us with.  


Do we have a roof over our head?  Praise God.  Do we have something to eat each day?  Praise God.  Do we have any friends?  Praise God.  Do we have a bed to sleep in?  Praise God.  Do we have clothes to wear and shoes on our feet?  Praise God. 


If we would take just a few moments each day we would realize that God has provided us with many blessings and that we should rejoice in it.  In the book of Nehemiah, Ezra the prophet tells us not to be sad, but to rejoice in our Lord and to make that our strength.  Isn't that interesting?  He's telling us that the thing we should be best at doing is rejoicing in the Lord.  


During my life I've met a few people (not many) who seem to always be rejoicing in the Lord.  When I think about it, these also seem to be very happy people.  These are people who focus on their blessings rather than on their problems.  We can learn a lesson from them in that by rejoicing in the Lord, we find that our joy is the Lord.


Sing praises to our God, sing praises
Sing praises to our King, sing praises
Let all the nations sing
Let all the nations sing of His love
Oh, sing praises

So shout for joy all of His children
So shout for joy all of His children
Let all the people sing
Let all the people sing of His love
Oh, sing praises
THIRD DAY- "Sing Praises"