We experience God when we practice what He promised.
I was reading in Nehemiah 8 just days before my youngest son, Dutton, was born. I was 38+ weeks pregnant and R-E-A-D-Y. I kept returning to Nehemiah 8:9–12 — specifically the reminder that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
In this passage, the Israelites are moved to tears when they finally understand God’s Law and recognize their sin. But rather than allowing them to remain in mourning, Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites call them to celebrate. The day is holy, they say, and true strength is found not in sorrow, but in delighting in God. Conviction leads to joy. Understanding leads to renewal. Repentance gives way to communal celebration and shared abundance.
Fast forward a few days.
After we were checked into the hospital unexpectedly, the woman who came in to register my paperwork felt led to write me a handwritten note. In it, she highlighted the joy of the Lord she felt so tangibly in the labor and delivery room.
The very thing I sensed the Lord inviting me to practice — His joy as my strength — was spoken over me again just hours before our “not-so-little” 9-lb+ man made his arrival.
God never asks us to practice what He promises for any reason other than this: He wants us to experience Him. When we notice repetition in our lives — especially holy repetition — it’s an invitation to pause and pay attention.
The joy of the Lord truly is our strength. Try it. Sit with gratitude for who He is. Let His joy take root in your heart. Then watch how you begin to experience Him in new and unexpected ways.
Britt Goff #wheatfulwednesday
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