The Sustaining Side Of Joy

Perhaps you've heard the phrase that is taken from the Bible, the joy of the Lord is our strength. It is a true saying and communicates a true benefit that we gain in our walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. But lately I have had some differing experiences with that joy.
Sometimes the joy of the Lord is a joy that is empty of the emotional hilarity that is often associated with joy. The emotions of  happiness, excitement, high energy, perhaps a giddiness are absent. Rather it is a joy that flows from the sure confidence and certainty that God Almighty is in control of all things. Although people all around us live and move in the haze and murkiness of a life without Christ, outside the fellowship with the God Who formed them, the Christian lives with the awareness that his Lord and Savior is fully aware and attentive to all that concerns us.  The Holy Spirit of God is acting in our world today, yet barely noticeable, hardly perceived. The gravity of so many disregarding His Presence and activity is something that can cause a gracious soul to become burdened with deep concern or even despair in our situation.
Yet our joy is real and present.  It is not depleted by the flow of heightened emotional expressions. Rather it is a source of strength and a quiet foundation that allows us to grasp victory in the midst of falleness.  We have joy and its subsequent strength, because we are confident that God is not moved by the sin and dysfunction in society. His will is  not diminished or hindered by the rebellion of His creation. The murkiness of culture only gives opportunity for light to dispel the haze.
Therefore, when we realize that God has called us to be part of His work in all of this brokenness, and that He has secured our place in the glorious hereafter, we have great joy that doesn't dissipate when we experience it. Instead we have the strength of joy, the certainty of victory, and the impetus to continue forward against any obstacle.
That's one aspect of the joy of the Lord being our strength. May it increase in all of us.