Satan is NOT stealing my joy
I want to start off by saying...I used to blog
almost everyday and the site that I used is no longer available so I stopped
writing...but the Lord led me to start doing it again and this has been on my
heart for the past few days. I have had ALOT going on, can I
stress again ALOT going on. lol It's been so much more than
anyone knows but I know that God has it all under control. It's so hard
sometimes not to try and control the situations that are happening around me
because my flesh takes over but reality is...I cannot do anything without Him.
It takes FAITH.
I see that through all of this craziness, I've allowed
myself to lose joy. I don't mean silly, goofy, laughing, joy...I mean the joy
within me. The joy that Satan tries to steal. Nehemiah 8:10 says.....the joy of
the Lord is our strength. So the joy of the Lord brings strength in our
lives...If we do not choose joy, we lose strength. Everyday we make choices. We
choose to go to store, we choose what to wear, we choose to call our friends, we
choose what to watch on TV. I know you get the point 
...and we can
choose to NOT allow Satan to steal our joy. Sometimes I do not even realize
Satan is at work, I mean how did Satan make Brandon need surgery, Devin's bus
accident, Hospital visits (5) in a week, bills pile up, school stuff, etc.? He
didn't...however, in the midst of my rushing and worrying through these times, I
allowed the doubt, fear, and anxiety take over....during THAT time, I believed
his lies. The more I doubted the more he lied. Make sense yet?
...and we can
choose to NOT allow Satan to steal our joy. Sometimes I do not even realize
Satan is at work, I mean how did Satan make Brandon need surgery, Devin's bus
accident, Hospital visits (5) in a week, bills pile up, school stuff, etc.? He
didn't...however, in the midst of my rushing and worrying through these times, I
allowed the doubt, fear, and anxiety take over....during THAT time, I believed
his lies. The more I doubted the more he lied. Make sense yet?
If the joy of the Lord is our strength....and I lost
strength during those moments...I've opened a door for Satan to walk through and
put thoughts, fears, and doubt into my head
which led to my heart. See God wants us to be joyful....even during the hard
times. Our joy is not determined by what is going on around us...it's determined
by His promises that He has made for us.
When I wake up in the morning, I get to decide whether I'll
be happy or not (sounds easy right? lol) but then life starts happening and
things start happening and I tend to lose that joy (typically before lunch lol)
but that's about when we need to remember that we can also choose our reaction.
give it to God,leave it with Him, thank Him for it, and take JOY in knowing that
it is on it's way.
Phew--not easy I know...but if we don't choose
to keep our joy---the devil will kindly steal it!
