On Sunday, all of the kids were in the middle of the floor doing a coloring activity, except one little boy. He didn’t want to color. Instead, he asked if he could play with the kitchen set and cook me breakfast. I said, “Yes! I want pancakes and sausages.” While he was preparing my breakfast, a little girl came alongside him and started picking up some of the food items he had sitting on the stove. Immediately, he told her, “NO!” and grabbed the items out of her hand. She ran over to tell me that he didn’t want to play with her. Before I could call his name, he came to me and said, “But Ms. Crystal. I was playing in the kitchen BY MYSELF. Now she wants to come by me. I was happy by myself… now, she made me sad.”
We, as believers must never forget that we have an enemy and his primary objective is to steal our joy. He uses people and situations to cause us pain and discomfort, in order to get us to focus on how “sad” we are rather than the One who gives us joy! Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. That joy is the gladness in our hearts that comes from knowing and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that joy is fully based on our Savior, never on our situations. Never forget that no one can make you sad because joy is not a fruit of your circumstance. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit! So, make up your mind at the start of your day that nothing or no one that comes your way will interfere with your joy. Because the only way you can lose your joy, is if you choose to give it away.
