We recently had a passage from Nehemiah 8 as our call to worship and as I dove into this passage a bit I could see even more true community:
Nehemiah 8:9-12
“This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.
This passage is about a scattered people brought back together and restored into relationship with God and with each other, which to me is key and vital for true community. And if you dig into this a bit you can see that as they were in relationship with each other and as they started to understand God’s word they found true joy. Joy in the Word, joy in grace and forgiveness and even joy in a troubled world. Can’t we all relate to that?
Then as they found this true joy, it became their strength – the Joy in the Lord is their (our) strength. I had to keep digging so I looked up the Hebrew for strength and this word has in its essence this feeling of a safe harbor. So Joy in the Lord found through His Word and through relationships with Him and each other is our safe harbor. It is our literal safe harbor, our safe place for rest, for relationships, for peace and for love.
It is a safe harbor like no other!!!
Grace and Peace!
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