Kenneth Copeland Devotional 20 February 2024 – Joy: A Very Real Force
Topic – Joy: A Very Real Force
The joy of the Lord is your strength. – Nehemiah 8:10
Joy. It’s not a warm, happy feeling you’re supposed to have now and then when things are going well. It’s much more than that. Joy is one of the most powerful spiritual forces in the world.
Look again at Nehemiah 8:10 and I’ll show you why. If you were to diagram that scripture and remove the phrase, “of the Lord,” you would find what it’s truly saying is this: Joy is strength. The two are interchangeable.
That’s what makes joy so crucial. You can’t live a life of faith without being strong in the Lord—and when God wants to make you strong, joy is what He uses to do the job!
Joy is not just a state of mind. It is not a fleeting emotion. Joy is a very real force, and the devil doesn’t have anything that can stand up against it. Just as fear has to yield to faith, discouragement has to yield to joy.
Since joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, you already have it residing within you. But you must develop it, confess it and live by it if you want to enjoy its power.
Whatever circumstances you are facing today, you can be full of joy. You can be strong in the Lord. You can draw on the supply of the Holy Spirit within you and come out on top.
Rejoice!
Scripture Reading: Psalm 18:28-50 (NIV)
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
29 With your help I can advance against a troop[a];
with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and keeps my way secure.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
39 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
I trampled them[b] like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
44 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;
they come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
50 He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants forever.
This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.
