The joy of the lord

for the joy of the LORD is your strength- Nehemiah 8:9-12

I want to bring to you some thoughts I have had recently on this verse and how God uses Joy to defeat the devils schemes. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17) What we find when we can enter in to the presence of God and stop looking at the worries and the list of things we have to do in our daily lives we find wholeness. God's joy is our strength he delights in every single individual on this earth. We as believers have access to his presence and knowledge of his presence in our lives. We have been given the keys to give us the joy of the lord daily without measure. It is a matter of lifting the veil of our busy minds and letting his love and peace in to consume us. It may take time laying or focusing on the Lord because those thoughts that would persuade us from seeing who he is are always present it seems. When we can push aside those things while waiting on the Lord we will then start to feel his presence. It may take time to sense or notice a change, but when it does their is nothing like it. It is not that the presence or the Spirit comes at that initial moment we enter in to it. Many think that we need to praise, and worship sing and dance with all our might. Yes God takes delight in his children but when we lay and we come in faith saying I know your presence is wherever I am and acknowledge it we begin "practicing his presence" if you will. It then will only take moments the next time and hardly any moment the next. We then get an awareness for his presence. I can enter into his presence at this moment, I can go in and out. It started out with me, waiting on the lord, giving him what was on my heart and letting my heart be heard by him. Whether it was in my inner mind I was talking to him or my tongue actually confessing and being heard.
Intimacy in any relationships starts with being heard. Our hearts need to be heard, when were mad, sad, glad, happy joyful whatever it may be. Honesty creates intimacy in a marriage or a relationship because trust is formed. Their is no greater need in our lives than to know and to be known. That is what every human is created for. God wants to know us and he wants to know what is going on in our lives. He wants us to be real and open with him. Their are moments in prayer and supplication when we go to God willingly and readily to be used and we often come out with him asking what we want, he is a God that fulfills desires. We need to see the fathers face full of Joy, and we need to see the father delighting in us. When our earthly father or those around us have let us down we must be careful we don't associate the heavenly father as someone who is a father of lack or that will harmfully put you through things.
Keep your eyes on his loving and joyful eyes. Get a picture in your mind of your father laughing over you and delighting over you in joy, let his joy fill your soul until your belly is so full of laughter and let it out. Laughter brings freedom, not only to you but to those around you as well. 
In Judges 6 and 7 Gideon chooses men who will come and fight the battle with him. Those that lapped with their hands to their mouth were chosen to fight the battle of the Lord. Those that were on their knees to drink were not chosen. I believe that God chose those who lapped because they had not a care in the world for the enemy. Those that were on their knees were positioned so that they couldn't be overtaken by anyone still looking around or at the enemy. They were distracted and could not consume the living water of the Lord. In Psalms 2 we get a picture of God laughing at the plans of the enemy. We to should be like him, when something comes are way that is suppose to get in our way as children we should laugh and be full of Joy because God is not worried about the plans of the enemy he is merely joyful at his children learning to know who their father is a warrior ready to bring his presence, and his glory as he has promised. God bless you!