Train to Live on Mission – Week 26
Battle Drill #26:
“Apply First Aid – The Joy of the Lord is My Strength!”
Proverbs 17:22 (NAS95)
Today, we are going to walk through the four action steps of a soldier’s training routine to learn the next battle drill – “Apply First Aid – The Joy of the Lord is My Strength!”
When I was a soldier, we were required to learn first aid and CPR. Why? Because the potential is high that a soldier, whether in training or on a battlefield, will need to apply first aid. In the same way, and for the same reasons, the good soldiers of Jesus Christ must train themselves to be able to apply first aid in all circumstances. God has provided a great medicine for our soul – the sweet balm of joy! There is much suffering and many tribulations in this life; therefore, we must build our lives upon the sure foundation of what Christ has given to us – His joy!
There is great joy found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is not only the joy of our eternal salvation, secured through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but this is the work of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of God’s presence in and though our lives that gives us a joy that will empower us through the mountaintops and valleys of our emotions and life experiences. Nehemiah 8:10 commands and promises, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Let me be clear from the beginning that the joy of the Lord is not a response to your circumstances, it is the posture of your heart in your circumstances, it is the firm foundation upon which you can biblically respond to your circumstances as a good soldier of Jesus! The strength of your joy is found in none other than the Rock of your Salvation – Jesus Christ! Let’s take the first action step of a soldier’s training routine to live on mission.
Action Step #1) Know the Field Manual.
Action Step #2) Train together as one unit.
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ “Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.” ’ ” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
An exceedingly great army came to life because God breathed His Holy Spirit upon a bunch of dry, lifeless bones. Ezekiel described the bones as “very dry,” as if to say, “there’s absolutely no life left in these bones, and there hasn’t been for a long time.” And how similar is the experience of a broken spirit? A broken spirit dries up the bones! The decay is not instant, but the longer the spirit remains broken, the more apparent it becomes that there has been no joy in that person’s spirit for a long time.
Have you lost your smile? Do you feel dried up by the circumstances of your life – weary from this life and heavy-burdened by sin? The answer to your dry-bones condition is the balm of joy through a relationship with Jesus Christ because a joyful heart causes good healing!
As I shared with you at our worship in the park service in Memorial Park a few weeks ago, my favorite song to start off the day is from Psalm 118:24, “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This verse both reminds me and exhorts me to live according to what is true. One of the greatest ways to train this battle drill is through singing, so let us sing together this wonderfully simple, yet powerful hymn from Psalm 118:
This is the day (this is the day).
That the Lord has made (that the Lord has made).
We will rejoice (we will rejoice),
And be glad in it (and be glad in it).
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day (this is the day)
That the Lord has made.
The reason this verse, and its corresponding song, are so powerful to me is the context of the passage, found in Psalm 118:20-23:
This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
We rejoice and are glad because Jesus Christ has come and brought life to our dry bones! Jesus told us in John 10:7-11 that He is the gate of the Lord:
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Additionally, after Pentecost, in Acts 4:8-12, Peter preached that Jesus is the chief corner stone which the builders rejected:
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
The Holy Spirit brought life to the Church on Pentecost, raising up a new exceedingly great army for God. In the same way that the dry bones of Israel needed the Spirit of God to bring life and raise them up for a purpose as God’s army, so do you and I, today, as His Church, need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our dry bones. Like the first Pentecost nearly two thousand years ago, God calls forth life to our dry-bones condition on purpose! He’s doing the same today, in and through us! Let us now take the third action step of a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Action Step #3) Seek the Commander’s approval.
Paul invites us to join him in Philippians 2:18, “You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.” Later, Paul commands in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” You can declare this in song, just like we did with Psalm 118:24, but you are to apply this to every circumstances. This decision, whether you rejoice, or not, has significant implications on your emotional stability, mental health, and spiritual vitality.
We see this truth laid out for us in Proverbs 15:13-16:
- Emotional stability is expressed in Proverbs 15:13, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.”
- Mental health is communicated in Proverbs 15:14, “The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly.”
- Spiritual vitality is proclaimed in Proverbs 15:15-16, “All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and turmoil with it.”
The joy of the Lord is your strength! God is at work in and through you in every circumstance you face, but you must choose to walk with Him and in His strength – to rejoice in His presence being with you! I often say to people when I counsel, “You choose to get better, or you become bitter – your choice!” It’s about faith in your Commander, not about your feelings (emotional), perspectives (mental), or interpretations (spiritual) of your circumstances. Let’s walk through five Scriptures to demonstrate this spiritual truth about joy from God:
- Psalm 16:11. “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
- John 17:13. “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.”
- Romans 15:13. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
- Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
- 1 Peter 1:3-9. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
Joy is not about our ever-changing circumstances, but our unwavering trust in God and His promises – our rejoicing in Him and His power to perform every promise, on time, every time, in us and through us! How many of would “rejoice always” if we walked under own strength. It’s impossible! Our joy comes from knowing that the resources at our disposal are not limited to the inadequacy of our humanity, but rather the resources we have access to flow from the fountain of grace that brings us salvation and the power to walk confidently and securely in all our circumstances – the Holy Spirit! In His power, we live on mission for God. This brings us to the final action step of our training regimen.
Action Step #4) Live on mission.
We live on mission by reflecting the heart of Jesus Christ in how we live our lives and in how we conduct our business. This is our calling as image bearers of God – to reflect Jesus by living our lives as He did His. Jesus was motivated by the joy of the Lord, and went to the Cross for His joy to be made full in us, as promised in John 17:13, and as described in Hebrews 12:2-3:
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.