The Joy of the LORD.

     Have you ever been around someone who is never happy?  I have.  It's not fun!

     Now, let me ask. . .What were they focused on?  More often than not, it's self.  Right?
    
     Next question. . .What are you focused on?  Count how many times you say the words, "Me, My, or I" the next time you have a conversation with someone.

     The last part of Nehemiah 8:10 says, "for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  Adam Clarke says about this statement:
     "This is no gluttonous and drunken festival that enervates the body, and enfeebles the mind: from your religious feast your bodies will acquire strength and your minds power and fervour, so that you shall be able to DO HIS will, and to do it cheerfully.  Religious joy, properly tempered with continual dependence on the help of God, meekness of mind, and self-diffidence, is a powerful means of strengthening the soul. In such a state every duty is practicable, and every duty delightful.  A cheerful heart is not only a continual feast, but also a continual medicine."

     When our focus is on the LORD, we can be joyful through anything, and that is not a forced joy either!