3 Things that fight joy:
- Selfishness. Selfishness robs joy and brings disorder instead of order. Selfishness always brings sadness.
- Bitterness robs joy. How you learn to deal with hurt will significantly determine your joy. Hurting people hurt people. People that hurt people end up lonely.
- Fear robs joy. The promise of God’s protection can keep us from fear. Think on God’s Promises and His Word;
Don’t leave God out of your thinking!
Fear God instead of man.
3 Things that fight for joy:
#1 – Focus on giving instead of getting.
Acts 20:35 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
#2 – Focus on healing instead of hurting.
Colossians 3:12-13, NKJV “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
#3 – Focus on God’s power instead of your problems.
Psalms 62:8, NKJV “Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
The Challenge
- Have you allowed selfishness, bitterness, and fear to rob your joy? Don’t rehearse the hurt; reverse the hurt.
- Generosity/giving defeats and overcomes selfish desire. How can you be generous?