Joy Stealers

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

In his book Laugh Again, Charles Swindoll suggests three common “joy stealers”—worry, stress, and fear.

• WORRY: He defines worry as “an inordinate anxiety about something that may or may not occur.” (And it usually doesn’t.)
• STRESS, says the author, is “intense strain over a situation we can’t change or control.” (But God can.)
• FEAR, according to Swindoll, is a “dreadful uneasiness over danger, evil, or pain.” (And it magnifies our problems.)

Swindoll says that to resist these “joy stealers” we must embrace the same confidence that Paul expressed in his letter to the Philippians. After giving thanks for the Philippian believers (Php 1:3, 4, 5), the apostle assured them “that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6).

Most of us are capable of taking something small that is causing worry, stress & fear and turning it into something very big to worry about, stress over, and be fearful about. I know that I’m a world class worrier – my mind can turn something over and over again unless I step into it and tell my mind to stop, and to intentionally focus on something positive. Scripture is the perfect things to use to replace those thoughts with, as His word will always help us out.

Remember, Jesus calmed the storm with words: “And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.” (Mark 4:39)

So too can the words of God calm our storms. We must also put our faith in the one who began the good work in us to finish it.

That means not only being patient but not giving in to worry, stress and fear when we are being worked on by the events of life. Those are God’s way of perfecting us.

You cannot control the events and circumstances of life, but you can control your reaction to those events and circumstances.

Do not let your joy be stolen.

Turn those negative thoughts into positive ones.