“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” - Romans 15:13 (NIV).

Joy is one of the blessings of the Christian life. Psalm 28:7 says, The Lord is my strength and shield.  I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” 

Once the prophet Nehemiah told the people of God after they had gathered to celebrate all He had done for them, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Although joy is one of the marked blessings we have, Satan will always fight to steal joy from the children of God. When, “David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,  while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets” (vv 14-15), one person was not so amused by his joy,  his wife, Micah. So, “when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart” (vv 16). Indeed, “when David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

But rather than let the enemy drive joy from him, David’s reply was, “I will celebrate before the Lord” (vv 20).

What we see here is that Satan is never pleased with our joy. He would please to steal our joy such as in this instance with a negative remark from nowhere. Sometimes he can trick our minds and make us despair of events around us convincing us there is no hope.  When we are settled and smoothly cruising, Satan will set up road blocks of confusion, just to take that joy away from us.

The mature Christian will see through these tricks and shrug them off. Let us purpose never to lose that joy from the Lord. As Isaiah 12: 6 says, “Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, thank you for the blessings of joy you have given me, and may I rise to live and share that joy wherever I be!