Hold Onto Your Joy!

Most of us have been there. We’ve been in line at the buffet in grandma’s kitchen with a paper plate in our hand, or sitting around the table at our in-laws house, or maybe crowded around the Christmas tree with our loved ones when one of our relatives says something hurtful or discouraging. Whether it’s a wisecrack about how much weight you’ve gained or a scoffing remark at your son’s dreams or an eyeroll at the lasagna rolls your brought, whatever words that were spoken or facial expressions that were made, they hurt you . . . deeply.

Now that the holidays are over and you’re packing away the tree and spending the gift cards that you were given, maybe you’re also mulling over what was done to you. Maybe you’ve been thinking about it so much that you just can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe you’re planning words you’ll retaliate with the next time you see them. Maybe you’ve internalized the put-downs, and now you believe that what they said about you is true. Maybe those hurtful words are the first things you think about when you wake up and the last thing you think about when you go to bed.

You hate to admit it, but you think, “What happened to that joy I used to have? That relative who said that STOLE MY JOY!”

But, I’m here to remind you that Jesus told us He would give us a joy that “no one can take away!”

If you know Jesus as your Savior, NO ONE CAN STEAL YOUR JOY! So, what happened? You GAVE your joy away!

When I was a kid, we used to sing a song in church that said, “This joy that I have the world didn’t give it to me – the world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.” Anybody remember that old song?

Here is a New Years Challenge – Decide to LIVE IN THE JOY that Jesus has for you. Decide that you aren’t going to give it away. Stop rehearsing and re-playing the hurtful things that were said or done to you, and choose to live in the perfect JOY that only Jesus can give!