DON'T LET ANYONE STEAL THAT JOY
You don’t have to be spiritual or Biblical to know how being joyful changes everything about you. There is surely something about joy that brings us strength and peace. It is very easy to understand, yet not very easy to do. Why? Because we have an enemy whose mission statement is to kill, steal, and destroy. He is out there to kill our joy, steal our joy, and destroy our joy. He knows that the “joy of the Lord is our strength”.
Talking about that Scripture, let’s look at it more closely.
And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold (Nehemiah 8:10).
The joy of the Lord is both our strength and security. It is a place where we should be, and where God wants us to be. However, there are joy stealers that keep us away from this place of refuge. Two of these joy stealers are grief and depression, which we women are so susceptible to.
There is nothing wrong with grieving over something or feeling sad over a situation. Yet, we should not let this linger longer than it should. How long can we grieve or feel depressed? Personally, I believe that we have to cry it out to God for as long as we want to but leave everything at the foot of the cross. This means that after staying in His presence crying and mourning, we should come out without bringing back with us the burden we already gave Him.
Easier said than done, huh? Yet, it works. All it takes is practice and you will see what I am talking about. I am not an expert in this matter but I’ve surely gotten better over the years. When I am sad, hurt, grieved, angry, disappointed, or frustrated, I run to God and cry and cry. Sometimes I don’t even say anything. I just cry. Then I feel such a release. At other times I sing worship songs to Him. Since I know how so easy it is for me to linger in my emotions, I run away from it as fast as I could. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way, so many times.
One thing you also have to understand as a woman is that God created you to be joyful. Proverbs 31:12 says: She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her. Honestly, how can you fulfill your role as a comforter and encourager if you don’t have the joy of the Lord? There is no way! And look at verse 17 of the same chapter ... She girds herself with strength ... And if the joy of the Lord is our strength, then this means that she girds herself with joy.
Do you realize that the armor for our feet is the gospel of peace? Do you realize that our feet are what keep our whole body stable? Without a stable stance, everything about us will fall ... our helmet of salvation, our breastplate of righteousness, our belt of truth, our shield of faith, and our sword which is the Word of God. It is “peace” that keeps all the other weapons secure. This peace comes from the joy of the Lord. Let me prove this to you by using another Scripture.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4, 6-7).
This Scripture says it all. We are to rejoice in the Lord at all times. We should not be anxious about anything, which means that anxiety is a major joy stealer. But how do we do this? How do we remain joyful? How do we refrain from being anxious? By praying about everything with thanksgiving. For instance, instead of thinking about my hurts, I can pray, Father, thank you for what I am going through. Thank you that I can come before you boldly. Thank you that you bottle up my tears. Thank you that you are my strength and shield. Thank you that you are my refuge. Keep thanking Him. Then the peace of God will rule in your hearts and minds.
Try it. It works big time!
So remember the joy stealers: grief, depression, anxiety. And remember the secret to remaining joyful: pray with thanksgiving.
Let that devil steal from you no more. Fight for that joy that you rightfully deserve.
~Lisa Maki~
Talking about that Scripture, let’s look at it more closely.
And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold (Nehemiah 8:10).
The joy of the Lord is both our strength and security. It is a place where we should be, and where God wants us to be. However, there are joy stealers that keep us away from this place of refuge. Two of these joy stealers are grief and depression, which we women are so susceptible to.
There is nothing wrong with grieving over something or feeling sad over a situation. Yet, we should not let this linger longer than it should. How long can we grieve or feel depressed? Personally, I believe that we have to cry it out to God for as long as we want to but leave everything at the foot of the cross. This means that after staying in His presence crying and mourning, we should come out without bringing back with us the burden we already gave Him.
Easier said than done, huh? Yet, it works. All it takes is practice and you will see what I am talking about. I am not an expert in this matter but I’ve surely gotten better over the years. When I am sad, hurt, grieved, angry, disappointed, or frustrated, I run to God and cry and cry. Sometimes I don’t even say anything. I just cry. Then I feel such a release. At other times I sing worship songs to Him. Since I know how so easy it is for me to linger in my emotions, I run away from it as fast as I could. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way, so many times.
One thing you also have to understand as a woman is that God created you to be joyful. Proverbs 31:12 says: She comforts, encourages, and does him only good as long as there is life within her. Honestly, how can you fulfill your role as a comforter and encourager if you don’t have the joy of the Lord? There is no way! And look at verse 17 of the same chapter ... She girds herself with strength ... And if the joy of the Lord is our strength, then this means that she girds herself with joy.
Do you realize that the armor for our feet is the gospel of peace? Do you realize that our feet are what keep our whole body stable? Without a stable stance, everything about us will fall ... our helmet of salvation, our breastplate of righteousness, our belt of truth, our shield of faith, and our sword which is the Word of God. It is “peace” that keeps all the other weapons secure. This peace comes from the joy of the Lord. Let me prove this to you by using another Scripture.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4, 6-7).
This Scripture says it all. We are to rejoice in the Lord at all times. We should not be anxious about anything, which means that anxiety is a major joy stealer. But how do we do this? How do we remain joyful? How do we refrain from being anxious? By praying about everything with thanksgiving. For instance, instead of thinking about my hurts, I can pray, Father, thank you for what I am going through. Thank you that I can come before you boldly. Thank you that you bottle up my tears. Thank you that you are my strength and shield. Thank you that you are my refuge. Keep thanking Him. Then the peace of God will rule in your hearts and minds.
Try it. It works big time!
So remember the joy stealers: grief, depression, anxiety. And remember the secret to remaining joyful: pray with thanksgiving.
Let that devil steal from you no more. Fight for that joy that you rightfully deserve.
~Lisa Maki~
