Have you ever just 'existed' going about your routine tasks but having no joy, no zeal, just putting one foot in front of another? I have! The worst part of it, if you stay in that mindset for a while it seems to become normal. You forget that you were not made to live that way.
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that 'the joy of the Lord is our strength'. And in I Thessalonians 1:5-6 - " For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." God gives us power through the Holy Ghost, his JOY is our strength.
But what if you feel like you can't put one foot in front of the other? What if you have no joy in your heart and mind? What if you feel like 'this world would be better off without me? How do you overcome those things? You can't, at least not without turning to the Father.
Satan is a thief and he will steal our joy. He knows if he steals our joy, then he can make us totally ineffective in our daily walk. Worse at times he can make us a stumbling block! My pastor said something last night that really stuck with me. It was a quote he had heard, I hope I quote it correct. 'There are many people going to hell because of people going to heaven'. How that should make our hearts ache!
If satan has stolen your joy, you can get it back but you must get in the Book and plead the Blood. Satan is no match for God but we often find ourselves defeated and instead of turning to God we turn from Him. Why did He allow this? Why didn't He stop this? But if we are honest with ourselves our defeats are from our own choices. God gives us free will and He will not MAKE you make the right choice.
God can give you back your joy, He can forgive the mistakes and break the chains that bind your heart in darkness. He wants you to be joyful. He tells us to make a JOYFUL noise unto the Lord. Sometimes we must trust that the joy is coming and praise Him so that He can bless us and give us our joy back.
It is hard for me to understand myself how I let myself get so far from His joy for a long period of time. Oh I can tell you all the things that happened, I can tell how they made me feel. I can tell you the hurts and the trials I experienced. But as I look now at the joy God has given me, I wonder 'what was I thinking' to wander so long without falling on my knees before Him and turn it all over to Him.
He is our joy, His joy is our strength, the Holy Ghost brings us that joy if only we will come to Him and give it all to Him. Having that joy doesn't mean our problems won't come back, it just means we mean it with a different mindset. It means we understand where our strength is. It means when satan comes knocking we send Jesus to answer the door. We put on our armor each day for battle. All the pieces of the armor are important but the helmet of salvation is what covers our mind. Satan looks to play mind games.
Am I saved? If I'm saved, why am I depressed (angry, jealous, name our own emotion here)? If He loves me why do I feel alone? If He loves me, why didn't He stop this from happening? Satan uses those questions to bring doubts and with those doubts comes self-loathing, depression, loss of self-worth. Satan brings condemnation, God brings conviction.
If the questions you have are leading you to God then they are from God. If they put a wedge between your spirit and the Holy Spirit, they are from the devil. It is important we learn to tell the difference. Read the book of I John. Read your Bible period, study it and pray. God wants you to have joy and He wants you to share His joy!
Let's be about our Father's business.
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