What Does It Take To Steal Your Joy?

Danny sent me a text the other day after listening to a preacher on the radio. His paraphrase of the message was: Spiritual maturity can be measured by what it takes to steal your joy.

The Lord must have known that I needed to hear that. I'm getting sick again and it has me a little discouraged. The circumstances of the day seem to all hit at once. I'm not sleeping well and never feel quite rested, leaving me drained to begin with.

But I'm reminded of the Scriptures:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The devil can't have my soul, but he works as hard as he can to steal my joy. He'll use all of those little things - my health, my circumstances, my energy - to make me as miserable as possible.

Spiritual maturity can be measured by what it takes to steal your joy. We have to be so firmly grounded in Christ that it takes more than a little poke from the devil to wipe away our joy. That means spending time in His Word, time in prayer and time listening for His direction. Then we'll have some ammunition to fight the daily battle.

Protect your joy at all costs!

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