as i was listening to one of my favorite talk radio shows...where callers can call in with their "situations" or questions...
a woman called in...and as i listened to her speak...my heart just broke for her...i didn't know her...but i could feel her pain...even over the radio...
the woman timidly made her way through her story...you could sense her grief...her voice was marked with depression and her words hung low from the burden that she carried...with a shaky voice and tear-filled eyes...she spoke words no mother wants to hear coming from her own lips...
“please pray for my fifteen-year-old daughter...she’s pregnant...”
the woman continued with her story...and revealed a little more about her life...this godly woman has loved and served God in her home, church, and community for years...now, she does nothing...ashamed, she blames herself for her child’s choices...and because of them...considers herself unworthy to serve...not only has this woman allowed her situation to steal her peace and joy, but her service too...
many christians fall into this same trap...they allow the enemy to rob them of their peace...steal their joy...and kill their witness over situations beyond their control...
it’s true...satan has always been a tempter...but where he catches us off guard is by thinking he tempts us to do bad things...our flesh mostly takes care of that job...the fact is...satan tempts us in order to lose what God has given us...
if satan can rob our joy and steal our witness...then he makes us useless in the kingdom of God...just like this mother...we become unproductive when our faith is stripped by unexpected heartbreak...nevertheless...you and i must not let satan use our circumstances to steal our joy...
that sounds good...but how do we find true joy in midst of heartache? simply put...we find it by depending on the Lord...david reminds us, “the Lord is my strength and my shield...my heart trusts in Him...and i am helped...my heart leaps for joy and i will give thanks to Him in song” ps. 28:7
first...david believed God heard his cries...
second...he relied on God’s provision and strength...
third...david trusted in God’s help with all of his heart...
this kept him from growing weak...losing heart...and giving up...
and finally...because david believed God was for him...in him...with him...and behind him one hundred percent...david was able to give thanks with a joyful heart...
like david and this mother on the radio...we will experience situations that can steal our joy and leave us feeling unworthy to serve...to think this way is to see ourselves outside of God’s grace...you and i don’t serve God because we are good enough...we serve God because He’s good enough...it’s His perfection working through our imperfections...
by the same token...our joy is not defined by our circumstances...it’s based on our relationship with God who...in due time...will bring us out of our present situation...
exercising faith in God...not circumstances...aids the discouraged heart so that satan cannot steal our joy or our purpose...
i don't know about you...but i refuse to let satan steal my joy...i long for the fullness of life that God has given me...i know...that as I trust Him in my present situation...i also trust Him to restore my peace and joy...
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