Joy Stealers


As I sat on my deck drinking my first cup of coffee(oh, I'll need more!!) and after finishing quiet time with the Lord, I began to think about writing of joy. Not just joy, but the stealing of it. I wondered what kind of picture I could use from our mountain life to illustrate, and came across this picture of a  little thief in one of my bird feeders. This pesky fella is definitely a joy stealer; the birds don't like him and neither do I. He steals the joy of me watching the birds when he and his family quickly empty the feeder.

While this pest can be shooed off the feeder most of the time, I find it much harder to fight against another joy stealer by the name of satan. If satan is firing his fiery darts at us, then I'd like to think that we're probably doing something right for God. I'm okay with that....I guess. But when he can convince others to start shooting those fiery darts, in the form of gossip, nasty comments about you and your family, etc., it's a hurt that is hard to fix. When it comes from someone who also names the name of Christ, what should we do? Well, if you're like me, you go on the defense and try not to fire back. Try to reason. Doesn't always work. If someone hasn't let go of something, it usually comes out and rears it's ugly head, eventually. An old song comes to mind - "Why Worry, When You Can Pray?"
Don't allow satan to steal your JOY or hurl his fiery darts at others through you.

So, we're speaking about joy here. How do we prevent satan or someone here on earth from stealing our joy? Stay close to God, read His Word, pray! And sometimes, we may need to take a step back from a relationship if we see no hope for healing. Sometimes, we just need to wait on God, because His timing is perfect all the time! You can have unspeakable JOY through Jesus!


"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:" I Peter 1:7,8































































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