How many times have I said, or you said, "so and so has caused me to lose my joy?" Well, this morning I was reading in Galatians and it hit me - no one has stolen my joy .... I let the devil have it by giving in to him. Seriously! My hubby does not still my joy. He may make me unhappy at times (as I do him), but he cannot steal my joy.
Joy: An inward hope and exuberance in spiteof outward circumstances. Joy differs from happiness, which relies on favorable circumstances.
Do you see what I'm saying? I love the movie War Room and I want to watch it again this weekend. It's a movie so I'm sure I can get hubby to say yes. Anyway, in this movie the wife comes out and is yelling at the devil and says something along these lines...
"and another thing, devil, you can not have my JOY! My JOY comes from the Jesus and in case you haven't figured it out yet, you are defeated by Jesus on the cross....."
I know that isn't the exact wording - so watch it yourself - you won't regret it. Great movie, and really makes one think about what we have allowed in our lives. We all think we are 'good people'. We do things right, most of the time. We try to be kind when people drive us crazy. But sometimes we let circumstances take our joy away.... and in reality, they aren't. Our Joy comes from Jesus and stays within us. What happens is that we are not happy with the circumstances. There is a difference. And I didn't really ponder that thought until I was reading in my Bible this morning.
So what are your thoughts on it? Have you been saying someone has stolen your joy? I know I have, and not just hubby. I have allowed other people who I held in high esteem to verbally beat me up and wear me down. I let them steal my joy, when in reality, I buried myself in unhappiness at the circumstance. But no more!
My Joy is in Jesus alone. Other things and circumstances just bring me happiness.
Like a child in a candy store, right?
Galatians 5:22-25 (NKJV): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Let the fruit of the Spirit live in you.
Update on my dermatologist... he froze a mole on my arm, cut a mole off the bottom of my foot, and clipped a tag that was annoying me. Other than that, I'm good for another year. Still need to call my podiatrist and have him tell me what to do about these bone spurs.... my heels are getting quite painful - with and without shoes. I don't know what can be done... hopefully no surgery... but will find out. This year is the year to do any of that... my deductible is paid up.
Went to dinner with friends last night and had a great time. Black Bear Diner always has great food. My trainer sent me my InBody report... ugh.... worse than I thought it was. No wonder he didn't want to show me. He also gave me a note that he wants me to increase my protein intake and cut back on fats and carbs. Easier said than done. How much protein? 100 grams of protein a day. Which doesn't seem bad. 30g in Premier Protein, 15g in my protein powder. 20g in a 4 oz hamburger. But I also need to cut back on carbs and fat. Sigh. I'm going to do this. Anyway - at dinner I chose the Cheeseburger salad. 800 calories. Now what makes it so high I'm guessing is the cheese and the hamburger. The rest is all lettuce, onions, pickles, hmmm no tomatoes in it.... I don't remember if anything else .. but think of a cheeseburger - you get a burger, cheese, pickles, onion, lettuce. That's about it, right? And I used a FF Italian dressing that did nothing for the salad. And it was so big I could only eat half of it and will have the remainder for lunch today. And, since I have chicken left over from the other night, will throw on some chicken and yeah - I'll get my protein up! 100 seems a lot, but I guess it really isn't. It's the carbs and fats that kill me. Anyway - I'm in this for the long haul so just facing the fact I need to change the way I eat.
Hubby has his Bible study this morning so I will have a few hours - albeit working - of being alone. What mischief can I get in to? Not much; work has been ovewhelming lately and I need to start extending meetings into 2024. Can't believe we are getting ready to hit the last quarter of the year!
And with all that.... I'm going to hush for today. Got some time left I can curl up with my journal and write some things down to my Abba. Yeah, I talk with Him too, but sometimes I like to put it on paper so that I can see when He answers my requests.... it isn't coincidence when things come out the way I want them to. It's God coincidence... He answers. Thank Him for His answers, even when they aren't what you want them to be. Your joy is complete in Him.
Blessings!
