We are busy celebrating the resurrection of Jesus!
Easter isn’t just one Sunday a year. For those who are alive in Christ, Easter is an everyday, all year, each breath experience of enjoying the new life that Christ has won for us.
This song expresses in music what Nehemiah says to the returned remnant:
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
— Nehemiah 8:10
Ezra and Nehemiah and all the leaders have been working for revival and restoration, and the capstone of this was reading the words of the Hebrew Law for all the people. Everyone was cut to the heart. They’re grieving the loss of what used to be, the smallness of their lives in the ruins of Jerusalem. Even more, they are grieving their own sinfulness, which makes them complicit and culpable for their current predicament. But Ezra and Nehemiah don’t see their circumstances as miserable. NO! They see God’s promises coming true. They see the restoration, the hopes of restoration made real, the delight of living once more with God in the land he gave them. Yes, there’s hard work and hardships here. But the renewal and restoration of God’s people is cause for celebration!
The practice of celebration is a hard one. It requires a constant shift in perspective. Songs like this (and really, any song by Rend Collective — they’re whole deal is joyful celebration of the gospel) help us to refocus on celebrating how God is making things new even now.
In the dead of night
I'll lift my eyes, I'll lift my eyes to You
When the waters rise
I'll lift my eyes, I'll lift my eyes to You
While there's hope in my heart
I will praise You, Lord
The joy of the Lord is my strength
The joy of the Lord is my strength
In the darkness I'll dance
In the shadows I'll sing
The joy of the Lord is my strength
Emmanuel Reformed Church 