“Guarding Against Joy Thieves”

“Guarding Against Joy Thieves”

Joy (part 4)

To this point I’ve written about what joy is and how joy can be pursued.  But a necessary closing to this series of posts is to reflect on those things that threaten to steal our joy – “Joy Thieves”.  Below I have listed seven thieves with a brief explanation of each.  My hope is that you will recognize the thieves that threaten to break into your life and that you will learn to lock the spiritual windows and doors.

1 – Satan and Demons

Be mindful that joy is God’s desire for His children, and a joyful Christian brings glory to God.  Satan’s desire is to block the work of God in our lives and to deny God His glory.  We must be mindful that the pursuit of joy is done in the midst of spiritual warfare.  To think that Satan and demons won’t oppose us is to leave ourselves vulnerable and be potentially defeated by his attacks in the area of joy. 

2 – An Inadequate Understanding of God’s Sovereignty

Joy can be stolen from us when we fail to consider that God is sovereign over every aspect of our lives and is working for our good in everything. Joy is nurtured by an awareness of our all-powerful Heavenly Father.

3 – A Circumstance Orientation

Circumstances will ebb and flow in our lives.  We will have good days and bad days. When our orientation is in relation to circumstances, our joy will be attached to that orientation. If we are only “joyful” on good days, we have a problem and will most likely be robbed of joy most of the time. Only a God-focused orientation is adequate to sustain consistent joy no matter what our circumstances are.

4 - Ingratitude

Some people are seldom joyful because they are seldom grateful.  They fail to see what God has done and is doing.  Ingratitude is an enemy of joy, so a Christian should always be looking for expressions of God’s grace and then should intentionally express gratitude to God.

5 – Fear of the Future

Joy is often stolen from us when we are anxious about what might happen.  We fear that we might fail, that we might lose something or someone that we love. We fear that we might get sick or we fear death itself.  The list goes on and on, but the fact is that fear of the future stems from doubt in God’s sovereignty over the future, which steals our joy in the present.

6 – To Live by Uncontrolled Feelings

Joy requires that we get ourselves under control.  We must preach to ourselves rather than talking to ourselves. Preaching to ourselves from the text of God’s Word is a path toward joy.  Failing to preach to ourselves is a path toward emotional instability. Look at how David models this in Psalm 42:5- Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.

7 – The Unwillingness to Accept Forgiveness (Guilt)

           

Our freedom from guilt has an objective and a subjective component.  The objective component is the declaration from God that we are forgiven.  The subjective component is the removal of our feelings of guilt before God.  When we don’t truly receive the objective forgiveness of God in our hearts we deny ourselves the subjective freedom from guilt and we have our joy stolen.