Nehemiah 12:43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

Reading this chapter up to this point, there are so many unfamiliar names that it’s enough to make most people stop reading! However, Nehemiah was a good leader, and he cared about the individuals working with him, giving them credit. We shouldn’t let the lists of names numb us to verses like this, that talk about the level of joy the Lord poured out on the people of the city. Some translations say “Jerusalem’s joy,” but we need to remember that cities, like churches, aren’t fundamentally buildings, but people. Buildings can’t rejoice! It speaks to me that the women and children are specifically mentioned here, and the Japanese indicates that it was because they also rejoiced that the joy carried far away. We don’t have to make a big scene with our joy, but we shouldn’t hold back. It is easily demonstrable that if one person starts laughing, the people around them will fairly quickly start laughing too, improving the mood for everyone. I’ve seen video of specific experiments with a hidden camera of someone watching a video on a tablet computer on a subway. When they start laughing, the people around them start laughing too, even though they aren’t seeing the video, and eventually most of the car full of people are laughing openly. Our joy in the Lord should be like that! The better we recognize God’s love, grace, and mercy toward us and respond to it, the more the people around us are likely to recognize God as well. I think the only people who were unhappy on this day that Nehemiah is writing about were the enemies who didn’t want them to succeed!

I have had non-Christians introduce their friends to me because they wanted their friends to “know someone who enjoys living.” I take that as a high compliment. God has indeed made me glad! I do have various things I don’t enjoy, but God has been more than gracious toward me. One thing that gets numbers of comments is the relationship that my wife and I have. Just yesterday a friend said yet again, “It makes me happy just to see you two together.” We will be celebrating our 56^th wedding anniversary this Saturday, and our gratitude level is very high! I have certainly learned that sharing joy doesn’t diminish it, it multiplies it. I am not to hide what the Lord has done for me, but rather share it with as many people as possible, as David proclaims in many of his Psalms. Doing that gives God glory, which is a joy in itself!

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You indeed for Your overwhelming grace and mercy toward me. May I be an open channel for that grace and mercy to flow to those around me, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!