The Supernatural Emotion

UV 776/10,000 The Supernatural Emotion Nehemiah said, “ Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to the Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8 v 10 The slogan that was rolled out for the recent World Environment Day was “ Think, Eat, Save.” It makes us feel guilty even when you eat a burger as they say that to make a burger, it would cost the environment 8000 litres of scarce water and six in seven people go hungry in the world. But this uni-verse in contrast says, “ Go and celebrate with choice food and sweet drinks.” We are to share of the good things we partake in with those who are less fortunate. This pleases the heart of the Lord that we are concerned for the poor and hungry. Every day is sacred to the Lord and especially, the Sabbath when we take time off to join together to worship the Lord. On the Sunday, we acknowledge the Sun of Righteousness who gives us light and provision and strength all through the week. We thank Him for the past week and ask Him to bless the coming week. When we are consistent in setting apart this day for the Lord and honour Him with both our time and our substance, He is pleased with our sacrifice and blesses us abundantly. The Lord is not a joy killer as many seem to think. He rejoices when His children enjoy their lives. When we rejoice in what delights the Lord, it becomes the source of our strength. The joy of the Lord is partaking in the Word, consuming it as choice food and drink. The Lord rejoices when we pay attention to the Word, store in in our hearts, value it, remember it often, claim the promises of God offering praises for His faithfulness and obey or apply every word of His command in different areas of our lives. We are also to share this joy with others who are hungry and have not tasted the delightful range of spiritual food and drink that the Word of God offers. The joy of the Lord is holistic- it affects or positively influences our spirit, mind and body. It is not the Lord ‘s will that we grieve over our past sins or our failures or our weaknesses. For when we grieve, the Holy Spirit grieves with us and scripture says, “ Do not grieve the Spirit.” It is only when are positive, joyful and grateful that we can thank and praise the Lord. It is also true that when we sincerely thank and praise the Lord, the joy of the Lord will start bubbling up in us. It is not the transient pleasure that the world offers but a continually flowing, supernatural,sacred emotion based on faith in the character and goodness of the Lord, not based on changing circumstances. Prateep V Philip