There is a shallow joy that comes from favorable circumstances. But there is a deep, strong joy that comes from the Lord. The first is like a house built on the sand that can easily be swept away by the winds, storms and waves of life. The second is like the house Jesus spoke of that has a solid foundation anchored in rock. This joy endures and cannot be swept away by circumstances.

This is the kind of joy that the prophet Habakkuk had. It saw him through, even as he and his people were being invaded and taken away as captives by the Babylonians. During this time he wrote,

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights."

If we do not find our joy in the Lord, then it will disappear when we face difficult trials.

"The joy of the Lord is your strength," Nehemiah said.

A remarkable thing about one species of deer in Israel, is that it is able to place it’s back feet exactly where its front feet had been when climbing cliffs! This makes it less likely to stumble when climbing.

If the joy of the Lord is our strength, then even in terrible circumstances, like Habakkuk, we will have feet like a deer that is able to climb high places.