Devotion 8 - Strengthening Ourselves Through Joy
“If you know the enemy & know yourself, the victory is not at risk!” (Sun Tzu - The Art of War)
Success, therefore, depends on preparation, anticipating every strategy an opponent might use against us and deciding in advance how a response should be, so that when attack occurs, the appropriate action can become instinctual and automatic.
For that reason, Peter cautioned us to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1Pet.5:8). And Paul also adjured us not be oblivious regarding the enemy “…lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Cor.2:11)
Joy of the Lord is our Strength
Neh.8:10 – “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
If the joy of the Lord is our strength, then joy would be a major focus of attack by the enemy; for if we lose our joy, we would not have strength to strengthen ourselves in the Lord. On the other hand, if we learn how to keep the Joy of the Lord in us, we will have strength to overcome every situation in life. Hence, joy is like the immune system in our spirit against any emotional attack from the enemy.
A Christian without joy is as good as one with no immunity against Satanic attacks. Hence, Satan uses all kinds of trials in life to rob us of our joy. Because once our immune system is down, he can then easily attack and defeat us.
Jas.1:2 – “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials…”
In this verse, James was not just telling us to keep the right heart attitude when we fall into various trials in life; rather, he was giving us the KEY to come out of the trials and temptation, for the only way to overcome all manner of temptation and trials is through the Joy of the Lord.
Joy vs. Happiness
Joy includes happiness but happiness does not necessarily include joy. Joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally. It comes when we learn to make peace with who we are before God, whereas happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on circumstances, things, places, thoughts and events.
Happiness is to be satisfied in the soul & body. However, when the Bible talks about the Joy of the Lord, is it not talking about feeling or experience but rather being satisfied in the spirit. Joy is something inside us, from the spirit. We can have joy despite any circumstances in life.
The epistle of Philippians is written while Paul was in prison, yet it was an epistle full of joy. In fact, the key word in this letter was rejoicing. In Phil. 4:16, Paul exhort us to “Rejoice in the Lord always…”. He is thus teaching us that joy comes from having the right perspective and most importantly, it is a choice. This is not about feelings, but it is about a choice we must make each day.
In 2 Cor.8:2, Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to fulfil their promise to take up a collection for the Jerusalem churches. In order to encourage their generosity, he pointed to the generosity of the churches in Macedonia and he said a most unusual thing, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” Notice that these churches were experiencing “severe trial” and that they also lived in “extreme poverty”, however, they still were filled with an “overflowing joy”.