READING: Nehemiah 11:22-13:31, Acts 15:1-29
“And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away” (Neh 12:43).
It seems like that kind of rejoicing didn’t happen often for the rebellious Hebrews, but it did on the day they dedicated the re-built wall around Jerusalem. Choirs sang together. Cymbals, harps, and lyres sounded. The people “offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy” (Neh 12:43)—and far away, people heard the praises of God echoing through the Judean hills.
Some years ago, Pam and I were visiting in a location where it was risky for Christians to join together at all—much less to worship. In fact, friends took us to an out-of-the-way room in the back corner of a factory, where believers had nevertheless gathered. What caught me by surprise was the fact that we could hear them singing before we ever entered the factory. It seems they gathered as brothers and sisters in Christ, began to sing God’s praises, and got lost in the wonder of it all. Apparently, they worried not about being heard in that moment.
I suspect that’s what happens when the joy of the Lord just overwhelms us. We sing, and the nations hear.
PRAYER: “God, give me that kind of joy today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Esther 1-4, Acts 15:30-16:10
