Nehemiah, in helping his people understand who God is and how life with God works, said, “…the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  (If you’ve never read Nehemiah’s story, check it out!) 

If the joy of the Lord is our strength, rejoicing is a powerful act in our lives! Do you need strength right now? Have you rejoiced today? Joined the rejoicing of someone else? Allowed someone to join your rejoicing?

If you haven’t, don’t worry! You still have a whole bunch of time today to get your joy on! Maybe it’s over something big like a long-awaited promotion or a cured illness… Maybe it’s something simple like lunch with a friend or a walk around the block.  Maybe the key to rejoicing often, or ALWAYS, as Paul would say, is to look for what God is doing. God is at work all around us. And just one glimpse of what God is up to will light up our hearts with joy that gives us strength we need to move forward in our lives.

My challenge to you is find SOMETHING to rejoice about today. Ask God to open your eyes to what God is doing around you. You may ask a friend or coworker to share with you what God is doing in her life. However you do it, exercise those joy muscles! They’re going to have carry you through the tough times!