There are all kinds of things that can steal our joy. They all have one common denominator. They all are things we try to find joy in instead of God. We all do it-- we look for rest by sitting down at the TV or drinking a glass or 5 of wine, we look for pleasure in all kinds of different ways, we try to find joy without God. Even feeling entitled to holding on to anger robs us of joy... unforgiveness breeds misery in our hearts & kills Love & joy! And when we complain we also rob ourselves of finding joy.
God gives us joy when we focus on Him by giving Him thanks for all things!! A couple of really great testimonial books on this are "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann VosKamp & "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom.
God grows joy in us when we make Him more important than anything else in our lives. It means going to Him to find rest, acceptance, security, peace, direction, etc... and we can be thankful for all things, because of His promise in Romans 8:28 to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Walking away from all the things we seek to find joy in can feel like we're snagging and tearing through the eye of a needle... Jesus did say that it's easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than to enter into the kingdom of heaven... we're rich in all the things we can turn to. But God is constant to give a way, and Jesus also said that nothing is impossible for God!! We can walk away from those other things and find peace and joy in God when we accept Christ, because it is He who made a way for us to enter the kingdom of heaven... to make the impossible, possible!
I have a few things that I somehow started going to instead of Him over time & I'm doing away with them and it's becoming obvious that those things have been robbing me of my life and therefore His joy.
Seeking Joy in the Lord by giving thanks to Him for everything. <3
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