But God’s joy is our strength

Nehemiah 8:10 The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Two weeks ago, Dave and I were in Pereira, Colombia (coffee-growing country) speaking at the first Latin American REVER Congress (people came from fourteen countries!).

Dave and I are in there somewhere!

The theme was “Restoring Joy in Difficult Times.” For some reason, the organizers thought Dave and I might have something to say about that topic. They assigned us five 90-minute talks. I also had two two-hour workshops and Dave had two 90-minute sessions with pastors. All in two days!

Our five sessions were “Finding Jesus in the Storm,” based on John 6:16-21, “Restoring Joy in My Difficult Times” (Dave talked about what helped him through his five major depressions), “Finding Joy in Chronic Suffering” (using Karis’s experience as a case study), “Discovering Joy in Marriage and Ministry” (this one was the most challenging for Dave and me to do together—but our intense preparation paid off!), and “Celebrating Joy in the Church in Difficult Times” (Dave’s final address).

For the Chronic Suffering talk, I highlighted five Scriptures that anchored Karis and me through her thirty years. Here’s a story I told in connection with Nehemiah 8:10:

I often heard Karis humming a song, “The Joy of the Lord Is My Strength.” When she sang it, she often inverted the words as well, “The strength of the Lord is my joy.”

“It’s impossible for me to muster enough strength to cope with my situation,” Karis told me. “Admitting this allows me to rest in the strength of the Lord. It relieves me of a lot of stress, not having to be strong myself. I’ve given up trying harder. Instead, I relax into God’s power.”

Friends often visited Karis in the hospital or at home to encourage her. I noticed a pattern: within a minute or two, Karis would redirect the conversation to her visitor’s concerns and would end up praying for them.

One day a friend visiting Karis at home exclaimed, “Karis, explain to me how you manage to deal with your situation.”

“My situation?” asked Karis.

“Yes, all of this.” The friend made a sweeping gesture that encompassed Karis’s TPN pump and IV pole and oxygen that tethered her, the hospital bed, commode, dressings, ostomy supplies, rows of meds, etc. “How can you smile and avoid bitterness when you suffer so much?

“We are the same, you and me,” Karis told her. “You just told me about the problems you face in your life. Your problems are too big for you, and mine are too big for me. We’re both forced to depend on God’s strength and wisdom.”

“True, but… your problems seem much more serious than mine,” the friend replied.

“Well, since both your problems and my problems are greater than our strength, there’s no point in comparing them. What matters is our dependence on the Lord.”

“For example…”

“For example, today when I woke up, before I opened my eyes, I said to God, ‘Ah, Lord, how I wanted to wake up today in Heaven with you. But here I am … You know, Lord, that I do not have the strength to endure this day. So, for whatever reason you still want me here, you have to live this day for me. I absolutely depend on your grace covering my weakness.’ And here we are, you and I, sharing those precious moments together, celebrating the strength and joy of the Lord.”

I witnessed conversations like this many, many times. The joy of the Lord was Karis’s strength. And the strength of the Lord was her deepest joy.

After her death, this friend told me, “Each time I want to complain about what I have on my plate, I think of Karis. God’s strength was big enough for her. It is surely big enough for me, too.”

For you and me also.

Joy of the Lord by Rend Collective