The Joy stealer

In John chapter 10, the Bible speaks of a certain thief. You know how when a thief enters a place, you sense fear. What will happen now? What do they want? Your joy, that’s what they want. The joy stealer wants all your joy.

If you look closely at the first part of John 10:10, the Bible says ” The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. ” Why did Jesus give you and I a forewarning? Well, He knew the thief would eventually come, so He prepared you ahead of time.

What characteristic does the thief a.k.a. joy stealer have? In John 10:1, Jesus calls anyone who doesn’t enter through the door a thief. So the thief never comes to you directly, he sneaks through some other way to get to you.

Why this preamble? Not so recently, I had an encounter with the joy stealer. One that I didn’t notice till I got over it.

Before we move further, have you read “The Joy of the Lord” ? Well, take some time to read it now, it will give a good background for the upcoming sentences.

My encounter with the joy stealer

When I finally celebrated my graduation at the beginning of August, it felt good. I was able to look back and reminisce on the days when I worked so hard. During this thought process, I suddenly realised that the joy stealer, the devil had almost stolen my joy.

How? You may ask. Before I graduated, I had specific prayer points. Prayer points about God’s will for my life and the next phase for me. As I prayed, I put in the effort. I did what no one else was doing, to ensure that I would not be in the situation I detest.

Well, God came through and ordered my steps. From completing my thesis at the eleventh hour, to passing my board examination with a distinction. In Hungary, Board examinations are required for all final year students, apart from Architecture students.

The Bible says in James 1:17 that every good and perfect gift comes from God. This is the exact description of my gift. Good and perfect. However, somewhere along the line, I became confused.

Do you know that scenario where you’re transitioning from one phase of life to the next, and it seems confusing?

A lot of questions went through my mind: Will people identify me for who I truly am or the distinction I got? Or will they set me on a high pedestal because of where I am going?

For the month of February, these questions plagued me. How do you move on from what you have no answer to? When you can’t pin what the challenge is exactly?

After some time, I came to the realisation that who God sees me as and calls me is greater than whatever people have to say.

Is there a reason I’m letting you in on this struggle today? Yes. Whenever the joy stealer comes, he picks at your joy, never taking direct swings at you.

When this happens, what do you do? Run to God’s word and remind yourself of what it says about you. Don’t ever forget that the second part of John 10:10 says ” I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Just as the thief a.k.a. joy stealer comes to steal, Jesus has come that you may have life (and joy) abundantly. Who will you believe?

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