Celebrating the Light of Christmas預覽

Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Joy

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! 

Christmas is a time when we celebrate Jesus—the Light of Joy—coming to the Earth. As the angel, Gabriel, announced the coming of our Lord Jesus, he said, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people” (Luke 2:10).

Joy was a gift to us from God. Joy is not a fleeting emotion, but a fruit of the spirit living inside us every minute of every day. Not only that, but Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength—and it’s a superhero kind of strength. 

That’s why the devil has spent so much time trying to get us near the kryptonite of joy—anything that takes us away from love. That’s because joy and love flow together.

If you think about it, you can easily see why. In this world, we’re surrounded by selfish people. They’re on the highways honking, gesturing and cutting rudely in front of us. They’re in the workplace, saying harsh and unkind things. Sad to say, you’ll even encounter them in church, ignoring you instead of giving you a smile and a warm hello, snapping at you because you didn’t do something just right.

If you don’t walk in love, someone will steal your joy before lunchtime because there is always someone out there who will be unkind. They don’t necessarily do it on purpose (any more than you do!), but they’re human. And, apart from the influence of God, human beings are naturally selfish. 

We can let people steal our joy when they say something ugly or wrong us in some way, by thinking about it and letting it eat at us until we become decreasingly joyful and increasingly upset.

Living a life of love, however, will change the way you respond to potentially offensive behavior. It will cause you to endure long and be patient and kind…not touchy or fretful or resentful.

Love enables you to overlook the offenses of others and let them go free. Love makes you think differently. When you choose love, the behavior of others can’t steal your joy!

This Christmas, whenever you have an opportunity to be offended, change course and move over into love. Then, watch as your joy stays perfectly intact and your spiritual power soars!