Reclaim Your Joy

The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity (see 2 Corinthians 10:3b–6, MSG).

Loss, anger, grief, protest, and heaviness abound around us. Between loss of life, fear of illness, anger at surrendered freedoms, and multiple stories of racial injustice, I am tired. Aren’t you? Social media has been a breeding ground for all of these thoughts and feelings as everyone vehemently shares their opinions. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a break from it all?

Everything screaming at us right now is loudly going against the truth of God for our lives. We can choose loss, or we can believe God has a plan. We can choose fear, or we can trust God is sovereign and all knowing. We can feel trapped, or we can remember our ultimate freedom is in Christ. But how? When the world is so loud, how do we choose stillness? How do we know that He is God in our midst?

Well, the good news is that God is who He says He is, regardless of our emotions or awareness. Sometimes we forget, but we’ve got “powerful God-tools” in our tool belt to combat these feelings; we need to wield them.

To wield means to hold and use a weapon or tool. Two parts: hold and use.

What do we need to hold? My friends, it’s quite simple. We must hold the Word of God in high esteem as the ultimate authority—as the forever-and-always truth for us, our lives, and creation. We need to take it in so that we may hold every thought and emotion accountable to its revealed truth. God’s Word is our lie detector and our truth compass. We need it.

What do we need to use? Our well-trained muscles! We need to lift the shield of faith and use the truth to extinguish the flaming darts of the enemy. With God’s help, we can defend our peace and joy. We can be truth tellers and, ultimately, lie dismantlers.

What lies are you believing? What negative feelings and emotions are you allowing to stick to you? Throw them off, dear one! Tell them no. Lift your shield of faith. Proclaim the truth. Reclaim your joy today.