"JOY THIEF"

"Joy Thief"

Neh. 8:10 'And Nehemiah continued, ³Go and celebrate with a feast of choice
foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing
prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don¹t be dejected and sad,
for the joy of the LORD is your strength!'

When God does something good in your life, or uses you to help others, it
makes you feel good. You get a good feeling about yourself and you begin to
feel that you helped to accomplish something wonderful for the Kingdom. But
then the enemy comes to steal that joy you have. He'll bring people around
you to get you down. Or he will bring a bad situation to your remembrance
to cause you to stop rejoicing. You see, he knows that if he can stop your
rejoicing, he can make you weak. As long as you have the joy of the Lord
and you are rejoicing about his mighty acts, you are strong. You are strong
because your confidence level in him is raised when he uses you. So, you
have to be very careful not to let the enemy come in at those times to steal
what you have from you. The bible says that he is a thief. But that is why
you must guard your heart and protect your mind from the enemy. He will use
whomever and whatever he can to rob you of your joy.

The word says that the joy of the Lord is your strength! This is why it is
so important to stay focused on his goodness and not allow people, things,
and circumstances to distract you from the work that God is doing in you.
God wants us to rejoice always. Rejoicing builds up our confidence level
and keeps us strong. When we are strong and confident, we are greater
assets to God and his Kingdom. Of course the devil is gonna come and cause
you to think of something to get you down, or he is gonna use people in your
lives to try to get you down when you are joyous. But you cannot let that
rob you of your joy. Continue to remember the way he used you and the way
he blessed you. Continue to think on the things above and stay in his will
for you. Don't let the devil steal your joy. Your joy is your strength.

Suggested Reading: Phil. 4:8, Col. 3:2, 1Pet. 1:8, 3John 1:4