Be still....{part 2 - the catalyst}

I had been writing the "Advent(ure)" series before Christmas, using the lyrics of the Christmas carol "Joy to the World" as inspiration.   The idea was to use each line of the first verse and chorus as prompts...

Looking back, I think that maybe the Lord was planning this little advent(ure) just for me?  I can sense His knowing smile at this very moment (!)...if you and I could literally see His eyes, they would be twinkling...

Well - back to the month of December...
I love word studies and delving into the original languages, so I THOUGHT I would research the fullness of the word "joy" in this verse:

...the joy of the LORD is your strength...

Nehemiah 8:10

In the King James Version, this exact word translated "joy" is found in only two other places, I Chronicles 16:27 and Ezra 6:16.  Each of these passages has to do with a dedication of the house of God.  In Chronicles, it is embedded in the midst of David's prophetic worship as he brings the Ark of the Lord into the city of Zion once and for all.  In Ezra, the people are celebrating the dedication of the rebuilt temple, and finally, in Nehemiah - the people are celebrating the feast of Passover in their rebuilt city for the first time in over 70 years.

Are you getting the idea there is something special about this word?

I know now that He was nudging me along, keeping this pouring out of revelation a surprise for me...

If you go to the online dictionary at Mirriam Webster, you will find this definition of joy:

1 : a feeling of great pleasure or happiness that comes from success, good fortune, or a sense of well-being : GLADNESS
2 : something that gives joy joy

to behold>

and this is a good definition, but is it God's?  Hebrew is a language of pictures, sometimes difficult to translate into English in a succinct way...and each letter in the Hebrew alphabet carries a meaning all its own, and when the letters come together to form words, each of those individual meanings weave together in a unique and incredible blend...and such is the word translated "joy":

Joy.

 "chedvah."
spelled in Hebrew:

 cheit

dalet

vav

hey

...Our family has been watching Star Trek:  The Next Generation series on DVD recently (all the way through mind you, but I wouldn't categorize us as "Trekkies" ♥).  In one episode, Data has been listening to poetry from a certain race of beings in which long periods of "stillness", sometimes days, are woven in as part of the poem.  The time, empty of any words at all, is included to give the hearer an opportunity to reflect upon and contemplate the meaning of the words just read AND the period of time that is empty of words.  Data invites his friend, Geordi, to contemplate "the emptiness" with him...

in the next few days I will be attempting to share - the largeness of what this Hebrew word holds....

...and so I invite you into these moments of stillness that I have found myself in; stillness fashioned by God in His poemia - the poem He is writing in me and that I am becoming (Ephesians 2:10) - just as you are, too...


Be Still... series:
Part 1 - Be Still
Part 2 - The Catalyst
Part 3 - Rumblings of the Silence Begin
Part 4 - Revelation Continues
Part 5 - A Nail that Holds and Anchors
Part 6 - Take a Breath, Breathe in God
Part 7 - Deepest Joy