A Life of Significance

Joyful Assurance

Excerpted from Miriam’s book: Abiding in Messiah

What is Joy?

Choosing the perfect name for a new baby can be both an adventure and a wonderful time of creativity. In Jewish family life, selecting a name is very important, as it often ties into tradition and the family’s expectation. For baby boys, the name is officially given eight days after birth at his circumcision. My husband Sam is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, which means his relatives emigrated from Eastern Europe. In the Ashkenazi tradition children are usually named after a deceased relative to honor that memory. When our first son was born, we wanted to honor Sam’s mother, Jean, so we took the letter J and named our son Joshua.

Oftentimes parents pick a name hoping it will be reflected in the baby’s personality as the child grows. In Biblical times, children were given names that represented a truth about them or about God.

What’s in a Name?

For example, Samuel means “heard of God” and reminded Hannah that God heard her request for a son (1 Samuel 1). Today, it is common for parents to choose Scriptural names. For instance, our son’s first name, Joshua, means God is salvation and his middle name, Abraham, means father of many nations.

I have always loved names that reflect the qualities of the Lord, like Grace and Joy. In fact I can think of three Hebrew names meaning joy that are common in Israel today. One of the names is Simcha, which means “mirth” of gladness and has the idea of celebration. Simcha is found in a number of verses such as Psalm 16:11 where it says,

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy [simcha]; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

When my Israeli friend gave birth to a girl, she named her Roni. I discovered from the Hebrew dictionary that Roni comes from the root ranan, which means to give a shout for joy or sing for joy.

Isaiah 12:6 – “Cry aloud and shout for joy [roni], O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.“

Gila is another beautiful Hebrew name that is common in Israel today and means to rejoice, to cry out, and to exult. One portion where gila is used twice is found in Isaiah 35:1 and describes rejoicing because of new life in the barren places.

“The wilderness and the desert will be glad [gil], and the Arabah will rejoice [gil] and blossom.”

Joyful Living

From these three different words for joy: simcha, roni and gila we learn various aspects of what it means to live joyfully according to the Scriptures. The idea of simcha teaches us that when we are in the presence of the Lord we will have complete delight with full pleasure in our celebrations. Moreover, in God’s appointment calendar with Israel (Lev. 23) there are commands to celebrate and be joyful throughout as we meet together to worship the Lord. From roni we learn that when the Holy One of Israel in in your midst, it is time to celebrate through exuberant worship. When God is in our midst, it is worth singing and shouting with joyful enthusiasm.

Gila is similar to roni and emphasizes the idea to cry out and to glory in. We find the usage of gila in Isaiah, where in the coming Kingdom, God will cause the desert to flourish. The King of kings will make all things new. What a great reason to rejoice and be glad as we eagerly anticipate the time when sorrow and sadness flee away, and we will be living in the reality of our eternal home.

Rejoice Always?

I look forward to the time when all tears will be wiped away and I believe that then I will be able to experience perpetual joy. However, meantime back on planet earth, it is just not that simple to be joyful always. Nonetheless, the Scriptures are clear that having joy is a vital part of our walk of faith. Messiah during His teaching after the Passover meal exhorted His disciples,

John 15:11 – “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.“

Paul also encouraged the congregation in Philippi,

Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.“

The Joy of the LORD

Finding perfect joy and continuing to rejoice at all times does not seem very natural to me. I tend to be more pessimistic, rather than optimistic. Just recently I got sick and completely lost my voice. I could barely whisper. I had shared with my friend, perhaps a little too boastfully, that even though I regularly speak and sing, I have strong vocal chords and don’t have to worry about losing my voice. So now that my voice is gone, I felt that God might be chastening me. In my pessimism I am writing out messages on a pad in order to communicate with others and wondering what’s next. I am thinking and praying,

Lord, have I taken you for granted? I would really like to have my voice back and be at full capacity but help me to have your perspective on this situation. I know that You don’t need me to be teaching and singing as much as You desire my obedience to follow Your will and my heart to be pure. Help me to have “the joy of the LORD as my strength.”

How can His Joy be my Strength?

The phrase “the joy of the LORD is your strength” is found in Nehemiah 8:10b and may even be familiar to you. Let us take a look at it in the context of Scripture. A number of Israelites who had been in the exile because of the Babylonian captivity were returning to Jerusalem. Sadly, the walls around Jerusalem were broken down leaving the city vulnerable and unprotected from attacks. Through the perseverance of Nehemiah’s leadership and with the help of some faithful Israelites the walls of Jerusalem had just been rebuilt (Neh. 15-16).

In Nehemiah chapter eight we have all the people gathered to observe the Fall Feasts of Israel, which included the Feast of Tabernacles. Ezra, the priest and the Levites brought the Hebrew Scrolls and began reading from the early morning until the middle of the day.

Nehemiah 8:8 – They read the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.

As the people understood the Word of God it did not result in celebration, but rather in weeping and mourning over their sense of sinfulness.

Piercing Joy

The inhabitants of Jerusalem were being drawn back to God as the Word of God was penetrating through their hearts and souls. They had gone into exile because of their disobedience and even though they returned to the land, they did not come back to the Lord. God’s Holy Word was cutting through their apathy and waywardness. However, after being convicted by the Scriptures, they were desirous to follow the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might. Nevertheless, instead of letting them grieve over their sins, Nehemiah gives them a rather strange admonition:

Nehemiah 8:10 – “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

First, Nehemiah tells them to eat party food. Celebrate with yummy treats and if your neighbors don’t have any food ready then send some goodies to them so they can rejoice as well. The Hebrew word kee means “for” or “because” and gives us two reasons to have a festive time with scrumptious eats and drinks. God was telling them to take time apart as sacred, kadosh

Take Heart!

1. For [because] this day is holy to the Lord this celebration is about God and glorifying Him. God was telling them to take time apart as sacred, kadosh, holy unto the Lord and to celebrate His goodness.
2. For [because] the joy of the LORD is your strength. The Hebrew word for joy is chedvah and has the idea of sharp, piercing joy. Since this joy belongs to the LORD, it will bring you God’s perspective on what is happening around you.

It’s like driving out early in the morning in a dense fog, barely being able to see the road. But as the sun begins to shine brighter and brighter the fog burns off and you can see the road ahead that was always there but now is clearly revealed. Often, we cannot understand or see the outcome for certain situations, but as we find that the joy of the LORD is our strength, then in turn, He gives us His heavenly perspective to see our lives and our circumstances in light of eternity.

For your own copy of Miriam’s Abiding in Messiah visit: https://wordofmessiah.org/product/abiding-in-messiah/ on sale now!