Joy
Don’t be sad, because the joy from the Lord is your strength! ~ Nehemiah 8:10b (CEB)
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. ~ Romans 15:13a (NLT)
KEY IDEA:
The Lord is the source of maximum joy.
PRAYER:
God, your joy is my strength. Forgive me for taking shortcuts and trying to find joy in superficial ways. Strengthen my faith so that I can trust you to take on more joy-producing challenges. Your joy will become the source of greater strength. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
NRSVue = New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (© 2021 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.) NTE = New Testament for Everyone (©2011 Nicolas Thomas Wright.)
REB = Revised English Bible (© 1989 Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press) TCEB = The Casual English Bible (© Stephen M. Miller)