"...for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh. 8:10).

Praise is an expression of your faith in God. People do a lot of things to express their feelings. Have you ever seen anybody express their anger? They do it with fingers, fists, contorted faces and words. And when people get filled up with anger, it comes out.

In fact, the quiet ones are the ones you'd better watch, because they'll be holding it in, holding it in...and that pressure builds and builds.

And when it does come out, boom! Well, they're expressing something. Have you ever noticed how you feel better sometimes after you express it? (Depending on what you did, of course)

Now, I don't know why people think that when it comes to God that they have to change being human. Human beings express. For example, you'll get a guy who will sit in church on Sunday morning, and he'll just be stoic.

I say, Lift your hands and praise God. And you'll see him sitting there. Then he goes to the Lions football game, and Barry Sanders makes somebody miss, and he gets all excited. That same guy will be on his feet slapping hands with somebody.

The problem is, he's got the wrong idea. He thinks that church is the place where you're supposed to hold everything in. God doesn't want you to hold it in. He wants you to let out. He wants you to let out the thing that got your mind straight, and that is joy. That is peace. That is victory.

And do you know how a person is when they're filled with joy? They express it. They talk it. Their face looks like it. Sometimes even their feet will get with it. When they really get filled with joy, they have to have some room to express it. They say, "Get out of the way, and give me some room so I can shout!"

Well, the joy of the Lord is your strength. Refuse to allow the devil to take your joy. Decide that you are going to have joy regardless to whatever comes against you, so you can stay strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

And you need to release a little bit of joy to let the devil know the Lord is on your side.

Scripture references: Psalm 5:11; Romans 14:17