Who’s Stealing Your Joy?

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”

Psalm 51:12

Go back with me to the eve of Christmas Eve several years ago.

The dark of night descended, all boys settled into the routines of bedtime. I escorted Andrew to his room for stories and snuggles. His open blinds reminded me to close them. I reached for the cord and stopped. “Whose van is in our driveway?” I shouted from upstairs.

No one answered back. The van in our driveway was white. My van was silver. Steve drove my van to work that day to get the oil changed. Where was my van and whose was this?

I went flying down the stairs demanding an answer. When I wouldn’t let up, Steve released a sigh, handed me a tiny box, and said, “Merry Christmas.” The tiny box held a set of keys. The keys to a brand new van. The keys I was to unwrap the next morning.

I ruined the surprise. I stole his joy.

It was a once in a lifetime kind of surprise. We are used car kind of people. Steve bought me a brand new, white Honda Odyssey. Steve’s love language is gifts. Steve receives more joy in giving gifts than receiving. Steve loves to spoil me and shower me if I let him. I’m much too practical and budget-minded, so I stifle his desires to pour out his love language on me at times.

I raced outside to see my elaborate gift. For me all the excitement was the same. This wasn’t the case for Steve. I’d stolen his joy unintentionally. And I’m much too clueless to have discovered the gift and played along because it never crossed my mind he would give that type of gift.

Have you ever faced a time you felt your joy was stolen? Not simply that you lost your joy, but it was taken right from you?

This is what the enemy is out to steal from us. Our joy.

I battle against this frequently. The enemy is constantly attempting to steal my joy. And yours.

When I teach my kids, it doesn’t take long to see the enemy’s plays.

The fight is exhausting. Fighting the same battle over and over again wears us down. The battle wages in our minds.

Do you find yourself fighting to maintain your joy?

The enemy uses his same schemes over and over again. The more we know who God is, the more we recognize when the enemy is assaulting us.

We can fight back by putting on our armor and picking up our sword. Claiming authority over the enemy in the name of Jesus. Our identity is in Christ. Our joy is found in Him. We need to pray and ask Him to restore the joy of our salvation. We need a shift of perspective. Our eyes on Him.

In case you didn’t know, I’ve written and recorded a devotion on releasing our fears and anxieties by learning to see God for who He is. It’s a practice in remembering who He is and keeping our eyes on Him. It’s called Illuminate. Download your copy today for only $5. Find out more here and listen to a sample.

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