Joy is a profound emotion.
It’s powerful. Resolute. Sustaining. Like the morning sun breaking the night at dawn, joy eliminates all other competing emotions in one fell swoop. A good night of laughter with friends. A morning with your spouse drinking coffee and enjoying an unhurried life. Watching animals dart about in the spring-time – alive again with new life. All of these things bring great, great joy.
And nothing, I believe, brings as much joy as the unfettered grace of our King.
As David writes in the Pslams there is a power that comes when we are restored the joy of our salvation.
The only thing is, you have an enemy. I have an enemy. And quite honestly, this enemy is bent of stealing, killing and destroying you and I. Salvation would be the first thing he hopes to destroy. He will distract the hand of a woman before she receives Christ. He will tell a man he’s too strong and self-reliant for the Gospel. As quick as salvation is offered, the enemy hopes to steal it away.
And if he can’t have that – then he’s hoping to take the joy of it.
Your enemy is hoping, day in and day out… to steal your joy.
So he will remind you of all you don’t have. He will bring up that worry. He will instill in you a still small voice of fear. He will aim your mind and heart at things you can’t control, and whisper that you should at least – try – to control them. He will take your trophy or your achievement, or your beautiful life and make it seem small.
See, because the enemy knows he can’t have your victory. That was sealed the day Christ rose from the dead. So instead, he will make the victory seem insignificant. He will make your freedom seem faint. He will cloud the beauty of it all.
The enemy would love nothing more than your joy.
But the truth be told, he can only steal it with your consent.
Today, remind that enemy of your victory. Remind him of the cross. Remind him of your wonderful friends. Your freed up heart. Your focused mind. Remind him that your joy is not for sale. It’s not up for grabs.
Nothing is worth your loss of joy. And if you have somehow forgotten it, remind yourself of it today. May you walk in the joy of your salvation. May your joy be un-touchable.
Jessie Davis 