CAN HE STEAL MY JOY?

No way! Although the Enemy CERTAINLY tries to, I have become quite adept at recoginizing his 'antics,' then refusing to let my joy be stolen! This is especially true regarding the 'circumstances' of the daily doings of life.. I do, though, need to learn to be more diligent at not letting him deprive me of the joy of honoring our Lord by eating more wisely consistently.(UGH!) But, back to the 'daily doings!'          Today is the first day of my 7th decade of life on this planet.. So, 'that old devil' thought he'd 'gift' me with some opportunities to not be full of the Joy of the Lord... (along with the Peace and Hope of our Lord!) The great thing about being the Lord's is I know WE WIN! "The joy of the Lord is my strength." (Nehemiah 8:10) Also, I love one of the Apostle Paul's 'benediction-type' sections in his letter to the Romans. In Chapter 15, verse 13, he says, "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." "I learned a long time ago that the JOY of the LORD does not depend on 'happiness!'  So, this morning when I was locked out of my bedroom by accident, and when another very irritating thing was happening (after my husband had gone to coffee with a friend so he couldn't handle the 'situation' for me..) I got to stop and realize I had a choice... To rejoice, or to be in a 'funk!' Of course, it was inconvenient and the other thing was very irksome, but... Hey! I didn't need to lose my joy over them!  The verse in Romans always reminds me to think of my life as a cup of tea, coffee, or whatever.. As I do, I picture it as full so when I (it) gets bumped, I need to be concerned about what spills out! Will it be the pleasantness of Christ in me, or evidence of that Enemy of ours having been allowed to steal my peace, hope, and joy I love so much as his child?!  Well, dear readers.. May you each 'stand guard' over all our Lord intends for and through you this day and always! Remember, 'The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.. But our Perfect Shepherd came so we might have life in full abundance!' (my paraphrase of JOHN 10:10 which happens to be my "Life-verse".. the second part of it, of course!)