The Joy of the Lord: Inner Strength for Outer Trials | Strength for the High Places: A 10-Day Journey Through Habakkuk 3:19

Habakkuk 3:19 in the Good News Translation says: “The Sovereign Lord gives me strength. He makes me sure-footed as a deer, and keeps me safe on the mountains.”

When things are not going right in your life, what do you do? Do you give in to fear and frustration, or do you choose to turn to God in faith, like Habakkuk did, trusting Him even when nothing made sense?

When everything around Habakkuk looked bleak, he chose joy in God. In Habakkuk 3:18, NKJV, he declared: “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation”. 

Habakkuk’s joy was not based on circumstances but on who God is.

In the book of Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV) we are told: “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 

This joy is not shallow happiness that comes and goes with circumstances: good news or comfort. It is a deep, sustaining strength that springs from knowing God is faithful.

The Apostle Paul echoed this truth while imprisoned, writing in Philippians 4:4 (NIV): “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” 

His chains could not steal his joy because it was anchored in Christ, not in freedom or comfort.

See, joy has the power to carry us through outer trials. 

James 1:2–3 (NKJV) says: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” 

Trials are not joyful in themselves. No one is happy to be going through a rough time. But joy transforms these times into opportunities for growth and endurance. And it is important for us to come to that place in our life’s journey.

Even in the darkest valley, joy rises. 

Psalm 30:5 (NIV) declares: “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” 

God promises that sorrow is temporary, but His joy is eternal.

In this world, Family, we will hear people telling us all sorts of foolishness, and some of us run with these sayings because on the surface, it sounds good. 

For example, the world tells us that strength comes from grit, toughness, or independence. 

But have you contrasted that with what the Word of God says? Scripture tells us strength comes from joy in God—joy that flows from His presence.

Psalm 16:11 (NRSV) says: “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

So when outer trials threaten to drain you…and this could look like losing a job and struggling to make ends meet, getting a diagnosis that shakes your health, dealing with constant pressure at work, facing family conflict or broken relationships, carrying the weight of grief after losing someone, or even living through global crises like economic instability or natural disasters, …when outer trials threaten to drain you, be encouraged that those are the kinds of storms on the outside that God’s joy can give us strength to endure on the inside.

Family, when outer trials threaten to drain you, look inward and upward. 

Today, let the joy of the Lord fill us with strength that no circumstance can steal. 

Like Habakkuk, let us choose to rejoice, and we will find that God’s joy will be the anchor that carries us through.