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Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them. Nehemiah 8:9-12

My joy was made complete early in 1999 when I realized God did forgive me without reservation. Although I had accepted Christ ten years earlier, I had been applying a worldlyperspective on what “true” forgiveness and reconciliation meant. In my mind, forgiveness required humbling oneself and then earning a renewed trust. I spent much of the 90s working to reach that level of rebuilt trust with God.

However, God is with us at all times. He sees and knows all of our actions, inactions, and thoughts. Toward the end of 1998, I realized there was no way I could ever rebuild what I had broken.

A gift was given to me through several people God placed in my life that year—professors, mentors, pastors, and fellow believers. They helped me see that God is nothing like the world; the path to trust I had, was formed in my own mind, but was not His way. Their encouragement was like Nehemiah’s to the people who felt the weight of their sin,

“Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The key to joy that we need to wrap our minds around and embrace is that our God is a forgiving God—no matter the sin we think is so heinous that we must work hard and perfectly at rebuilding trust. The exiles had worked hard to complete the wall, but the recognition of their sin overshadowed all their efforts. They were trying to appease God, as I was, by earning His forgiveness. But our peace of mind does not come from our abilities; it comes from God’s choice to be joyful with us. His joy becomes our strength.

So, as we enter this week of joy… ask yourself, "Is there some action, inaction, or thought that is weighing me down?" If so, agree with the Lord that you messed up and communicate with anyone who was negatively affected by your sin. Then embrace the truth that God sees you not as an annoyance to His holiness, but as a source of His joy.

The takeaway from this passage is that God does not come to crush us with guilt, but to meet us with joy. Our experience of that joy is realized as we draw close to Him. And then we are strengthened—and even joyful—through the reframed and true knowledge we receive.