Nehemiah 8:9–10 (NRSV)
Key Verse (Nehemiah 8:10):
“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Reflection:
When Nehemiah speaks these words, the people are not celebrating victory. They stand in partial restoration. The walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt, but the social fabric remains fragile. Exile has left its mark. When Ezra reads the law aloud, the people begin to weep. Their grief is genuine; it is recognition. They hear the covenant and realize how much they have strayed. They understand what has been lost. The tears show awareness — of failure, of distance, of the work still to do. In that moment, sorrow feels meaningful.
And yet, the instruction is not to stay there. “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Joy here is not emotional brightness. It is theological grounding. It is remembering who God has been when circumstances were unstable. It is recalling that exile did not erase the covenant. Joy becomes a form of defiance against despair’s quiet claim that ruin defines identity. It does not deny failure. It refuses to let failure be the final word. That distinction matters. There is a difference between honest repentance and living in shame as a permanent state.
At the beginning of this year, each of you received a Star Word — not chosen by you, but drawn. That simple act matters more than it might appear. You did not pick it; you received it. This counters the illusion of control. A Star Word isn’t a goal-setting tool or a motivational theme. It’s an invitation to pay attention. It urges you to notice where God might already be working — in ways you wouldn’t have planned. Some of you may have forgotten your word. Others might have found it uncomfortable. That discomfort might be the point. Faith rarely grows through control; it grows through attentiveness.
Joy functions in a similar way. It is not something we create; it is something we remember. Without joy, justice becomes fragile and driven by anger alone. Without joy, discipleship turns into performance. Without joy, community falls apart under fatigue.
Joy steadies love so it doesn’t turn into resentment.
Joy grounds us in a sense of belonging so that our interaction with the world isn’t driven solely by outrage or fear. The main question today isn’t whether you feel joyful but whether you are rooted in a memory of God strong enough to withstand despair.
Application:
Find your Star Word. Sit quietly with it for a few minutes. Ask yourself where you’ve resisted its invitation this year.
Writing Prompt:
Where has shame or cynicism quietly become more familiar than joy in your life? What has that shift shaped in you? And what would it look like to let joy be more familiar than shame in even one small corner of your life this week?
Prayer:
Faithful God,
anchor us in covenant memory.
Keep us from confusing shame with humility
or despair with realism.
Let your joy sustain our love
and strengthen our sense of belonging.
Amen.