Have you ever started your morning out nicely only to have it fall apart mid-day?
If so, you have just experienced an attack by the joy stealer aka the enemy aka Satan!
He shows up in the form of difficult circumstances, confusion, discouragement, overwhelm, lethargy, anxiety, hopelessness and frustration.
It always seems to me he targets those trying to live holy lives.
Why is that?
Because Satan knows if he can steal your joy he can steal your strength because .. . “the joy of the Lord is my strength.” Neh 8:10
And if he can rob you of your will to fight, hope, have faith or keep trying to live for God, he has you primely positioned for a spiritual, emotional, mental and even physical takedown.
Often our unhappiness, discouragement, resentment and anger comes from the behavior of others.
But they are not the real enemy.
It took me literally years to finally understand this.
They are merely pawns unknowingly being used to steal our joy.
Paul tells us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood (other people) but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world (the enemy) and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Eph 6:12
Our fight goes far beyond the catty co-worker, the betrayal of a friend, the ex-spouse/boyfriend’s actions, the rude cashier, the driver who just cut us off or the client who criticized us on social media.
They are not the true source of our heartaches but simply the means used to steal our joy and zap our strength.
Have you ever noticed when you are overwhelmed or upset you feel fatigued, confused, unable to focus or make a decision, spiritually dry, weepy or emotionally drained?
It’s because your joy has been stolen leaving you with no fighting power.
You are essentially tapped out and depleted.
But as long as we have joy we have the strength to continue on.
Did you know you can fight these spiritual battles and win? Every. Single. Time.
By taking “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph 6:17 you will take down the enemy every time.
Satan immediately flees when God’s word is proclaimed from our lips because we are speaking words that have authoritative POWER.
Why is that?
Because “the word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE. SHARPER than any double-edged sword.” Heb 4:12
It is the very reason when tempted by Satan, Christ responded with “It is written” followed by scripture.
So what do we do when all hell literally breaks loose in our lives?
In times past I would use my words to grumble, complain, find fault, plan revenge or whine and nothing ever changed, ever.
Instead of using our very words against ourselves or give up and proclaim the enemy the winner, what if we use our words to win the battle and send him back to the hell he came from?
We boldly remind the enemy that we are overcomers because “greater is He who is in me than he (the enemy) who is in the world.” John 4:4.
We let him know quickly that “we are more than conquerers through Him who loved us.” Rom 8:37
We confidently inform him that God “gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Col 15:57 and the “Lord is faithful and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thess 3:3
He can only steal our joy if or when we refuse to fight back with the Word.
It is our choice.
This is why God repeatedly instructs us to study and plant His word in our hearts because He knows it is our guaranteed means of victory against the joy stealer.
A quote I read recently said “Satan’s greatest weapon is man’s ignorance of God’s word.”
We simply cannot fight with a weapon we don’t possess leaving us defenseless when the battle is raging and our joy is at stake.
Today if your joy is on the verge of being ripped away from you taking your strength with it, open your mouth, fight back with the Word and win!
You are not Satan’s doormat or his punching bag!
You are a redeemed, forgiven, grace-covered, empowered, bold daughter of the King!
Sandra Hubbard
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