Variety: Nehemiah 8v10

The Joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8v10)

Joy deep in the heart of experience of God. 

Joy not related to, dependent upon, or derived from, any circumstances or conditions of life

Strange quality of awe in this joy, but a reflection of the deep calm water of the spirit out of which it comes. 

It is primarily a discovery of the soul, when God makes known God’s presence, where there are no words, no outward song, only the Divine Movement. 

This is the joy that the world cannot give. 

This is the joy that keeps watch against all the emissaries of sadness of mind and weariness of soul. 

This is the joy that comforts and is the companion, as we walk even through the valley of the shadow of death. 

Howard Thurman