Overview

1. The joy of the Lord is your strength 
2. Abide in His love for you
3. Behold His finished work and receive the oil of gladness
4. You are the joy that was set before Him!
5. Let your Shepherd carry you through every challenge

The joy of the Lord is your strength

Beloved, are you going through a storm today? Maybe you have been facing a trial for some time, and you feel weary and discouraged. Or perhaps life has simply felt mundane, and joy seems far from how you would describe what you are feeling right now.

If that’s you, take heart in this promise today: “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

Notice that the verse does not say your joy is your strength. It is the Lord’s joy.

Our joy can fluctuate depending on how we feel or what our circumstances look like, but the Lord’s joy is constant and unfailing. This means that in moments when you feel weak, discouraged, or overwhelmed, you don’t have to muster up happiness or try harder in your own strength.

The Lord’s heart is for you to draw from a joy and strength that is not your own.

We see this beautifully illustrated in Nehemiah 8.

The children of Israel had returned to Jerusalem after years of captivity in Babylon. And as they gathered together on the first day of the seventh month, the Book of the Law of Moses was read to them.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.
—Nehemiah 8:9 NKJV

Now, why did the people weep?

The law is holy, perfect, and just, but it also reveals how far man has fallen short of God’s perfect standard (Rom. 3:19–20). As the people heard the law that day, they became conscious of their own failures and those of their forefathers.

Yet right in the midst of their mourning, this was the word given to them:

“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
—Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV

Perhaps you, too, are conscious of areas where you have fallen short or weaknesses in your life that you have struggled to overcome. It could be a weakness in your body, an area of your character, or even a habit you have been struggling with.

Whatever it may be, the answer to your weakness is not to try harder in your own strength. It is to receive strength from the joy of the Lord, which is always available to you in every season.

Abide in His love for you

So how do we experience the joy of the Lord in our lives?

Our Lord Jesus Himself gives us the answer: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. . . . These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9–11). 

Notice the order here. Before Jesus speaks about His joy remaining in us, He first invites us to abide in His love. 

And what a love He has for us! 

We are loved by Him, just as He is loved by the Father. Think about how dearly the Father loves His beloved Son, the darling of His heart. That is the love He wants us to abide in—to remain in, to make our home in, and to be conscious of each day.

Friend, you never have to wonder whether you are loved or valued by the Lord. 

Your circumstances may change, and your feelings may fluctuate, but you can keep coming back to this one unchanging truth: you are loved by Him. And there is no greater demonstration of His love than the cross, where He willingly laid down His life for you. 

As you become more conscious of His love for you, His joy begins to fill your heart. And it doesn’t just stop there. The more you receive His love, grace, and forgiveness, the more you can extend that same grace and forgiveness to others. That’s how we live out the Lord’s commandment to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Behold His finished work and receive the oil of gladness

The Lord’s desire is for His joy to remain in us. And the wonderful thing is, this joy doesn’t depend on everything going well or our circumstances turning out the way we hope. It comes from looking to Jesus and His finished work.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
—Psalm 45:7–8 NKJV

The Lord Jesus is the One anointed with the oil of gladness. And notice the three spices associated with Him here: myrrh, aloes, and cassia. 

Myrrh and aloes point to the death of our Lord Jesus. The Bible tells us that after Jesus had given His life at the cross, Nicodemus came with “a mixture of myrrh and aloes” to prepare His body for burial (John 19:39).

Cassia points to the Lord’s humility and meekness. The root word for cassia in Hebrew is qadad, which means “to bow down.” Though Jesus is the King of kings and the beloved Son of God, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death on the cross (Phil. 2:8).

This is why we are called to behold Jesus and His finished work. As we remember His sacrifice, His humility, and His meekness, gladness rises in our hearts.

We are reminded that because He gave Himself for us, we are forgiven, redeemed, and set free. He paid the price we could never pay. And because He willingly took the cup of judgment for us, today you and I get to receive His cup of blessing that runs over (Ps. 23:5)!

You are the joy that was set before Him!

Now, the cross not only reveals what the Lord accomplished for us. It also reveals something precious about His heart toward us.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
—Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

At the cross, Jesus bore our sins, sicknesses, diseases, and sorrows. Yet the Bible tells us there was a joy set before Him that enabled Him to endure it all.

And what was the joy that carried Him through such suffering?

Beloved, it was you. You were the joy that was set before Him! You were on His mind as He went all the way to Calvary. 

As Jesus looked beyond the suffering of the cross, He knew what His sacrifice would accomplish. Through His finished work, the Father’s heart to reconcile us to Himself would be fulfilled. We would be saved from our sins, forgiven, redeemed, and set free. We would be brought near to the Father, able to enjoy all the blessings of the new covenant and the fullness of His grace. And this brought joy to His heart.

Let your Shepherd carry you through every challenge

We see this same joy in the heart of our Lord Jesus in Luke 15, when He tells the story of a shepherd who goes after one lost sheep. 

“And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”
—Luke 15:5 NKJV

Notice what the shepherd does upon finding this sheep. There’s no rebuke or condemnation. Instead, he lays it on his shoulders and carries it, all the while rejoicing. 

Then, when the shepherd arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” (Luke 15:5–6).

The truth is, every one of us is that one sheep. We may like to think we are among the ninety-nine who never went astray, but all of us were lost and in need of the Lord, our Good Shepherd.

And notice where the shepherd places this lost sheep—on his shoulders. In the Bible, the shoulder is a picture of strength. This means the sheep does not have to find the strength to make its own way home. It can rest entirely on the strength of the shepherd who carries it.

This is the heart of your Good Shepherd toward you. 

He doesn’t look at you in your weakness and demand that you somehow find the strength to carry yourself. He invites you to rest on His shoulders and let His strength carry you. And just as the shepherd rejoiced over the sheep he had found, the Lord rejoices over you.

So whether you are facing a challenge in your health, family, work, or any other area of your life today, take heart. You don’t have to face it in your own strength. Your Good Shepherd will carry you through.

And the Shepherd who carries you is also the One who cares for and protects you. David says of the Lord, “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Ps. 23:5).

It’s traditionally believed that shepherds would apply oil to their sheep’s heads to protect them from flies and other pests that could trouble and harm them. The shepherd knew what his sheep needed and took care to protect them. 

In the same way, your Good Shepherd knows what troubles you, and He knows exactly what you need. He is not only strong enough to carry you, but also attentive to every detail of your life. He watches over you, cares for you, and protects you every step of the way.

Beloved, you are in the hands of a Shepherd who rejoices over you. So keep looking to Him, and keep receiving from Him. Let Him carry you on His strong shoulders and anoint your head today with His oil of gladness! 

We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.

© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2026
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.