Satan cannot touch my salvation… it is as secure as God is faithful and true to His Word. But my joy is up for grabs, and attempting to take it from me seems to be Satan’s favorite way to spend time.
So what are my options?
A) Hide it. Place my joy under lock and key, then throw away the key so my joy can never be taken from me.
B) Defend it. Dress it in thick plated steel so that whenever I take it with me, it is impenetrable.
C) Surrender it. Give it up whenever I feel threatened or likely to lose it anyway.
D) Ignore it. Assume that it will come and go as it pleases, independent of my desire for it.
E) An entirely different option.
I choose…. ummm….. “E”!
Picture this:
A man carries a puppy into a gigantic yard filled with bones. He puts the puppy down on the ground and allows him to have as many bones as he can carry.
At first, the puppy leaps and wiggles and barks, pouncing on one bone, then another bone, then another, trying to chew on the biggest one in sight… until a few seconds later when he sees a bigger meatier bone nearby.
Suddenly, the puppy begins to dig with great energy; every instinct tells him he must bury a bone to be sure there is one there later when he needs it. He growls at a flickering shadow as the breeze gently blows through the trees, and decides to carry his prize bone off to a safer location, where he is distracted by yet another bone.
Suddenly, the puppy begins to dig with great energy; every instinct tells him he must bury a bone to be sure there is one there later when he needs it. He growls at a flickering shadow as the breeze gently blows through the trees, and decides to carry his prize bone off to a safer location, where he is distracted by yet another bone.
The man smiles as he watches the little waggy-tailed doggie romp here and there, attempting to drag two bones at once or to carry one twice his own size.
The man understands that the puppy will soon become weary, lay down on a grassy spot in the shade, and focus on the one bone which rests between his paws, finally content in knowing that plenty of bones will still be there whenever he is ready for another one because the man will provide them for him.
~ae
“You will make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence is fullness of joy;
in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” ~ Psalm 16:11
“…the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ~Neh 8:10
“These things I have spoken to you
so that My joy may be in you,
and that your joy may be made full.” ~John 15:11
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to make you stand in the presence of His glory
blameless with great joy…” ~Jude 24
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