Rob Renfroe - The Joy Stealers: Overcoming Obstacles to Hope and Happiness

The Joy Stealers

Overcoming Obstacles to Hope and Happiness

Copyright 2018 Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

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ISBN 9781501857997

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org/.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted ESV are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Gods will for you is joy. By joy I mean a sense of well-being that is not dependent on good fortune, positive circumstances, or the blessing of an optimistic disposition. Its something much deeper and more enduring than the fleeting feelings of happiness we experience when alls right with the world. Gods desire for you is a sense of confidence and encouragement that transcends your situation because it is founded on your relationship with him.

Jesus taught this truth when he said he had revealed the Fathers will for our lives so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (John 15:11).

The good news that Christians proclaim is that God loves us so much that he sent his Son into the world so we might have eternal life in the future AND so we could have abundant life in the here and now (John 10:10 NRSV). And part of that abundance is experiencing the same joy that Jesus knew.

Years ago I heard a comedian say, Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. Me? I keep wondering whos been drinking out of my glass.

When it comes to the joy you were meant to experience, does it ever feel like someone or something has been drinking out of your glass? Are there past hurts you cant shake? Does guilt drain your joy? Are there problematic relationships that wont change, or financial worries that hover over your future like ominous storm clouds? Is it the negative way you learned to look at life from your family of origin? Or maybe a measure-up mentality that tells you that you dont deserve to enjoy life until youve done one more thing?

Worry, bitterness, negativity, busyness and guiltthey will all steal our joybut only if we let them.

I was taught what I believe to be the most important lesson about living with joy from a remarkable man thirty years ago. Danny was the most energetic, in-love-with-life person I have ever known. Seventy years old when I, as a young man, was his pastor in a small east Texas town, he never slowed down. He was always going somewhere, helping someone, taking on some new project to serve the God he loved.

I once mentioned Danny to a church member, who had known him for years. I wouldnt mind doing the way Danny does when Im seventy, I said. Matter-of-factly he replied, Rob, you dont do as much as he does now. How are you going to get better over the next forty years?

Danny was a sought-after Bible teacher who spoke all over the state. He took care of several homebound senior citizens, making certain they were eating properly, getting to their doctors appointments, and paying their bills. He served on several church committees and oversaw the personal finances of one of the wealthiest men in Texas. Somehow, he also found time to build our sons a playhouse in the backyard that they enjoyed for years. And he did it all with boundless energy, an infectious spirit, and a huge smile that never quit.

On a church trip, I sat next to him, knowing I would have two hours to talk with him. I thought, This is my chance. Maybe I can learn something from him about living the way he does. So, I asked Danny to tell me the story of his life.

What I learned that day I have never forgotten. It just wasnt what I expected.

Dannys father had been killed in a car accident when Danny was young. His sister had disappeared when she was in her early twenties. No one had ever heard from her again. His mother died in a little East Texas hospital because of a botched operation. His granddaughter had died of a rare disease when she was only two. And his wife, the love of his life for the past fifty years, was suffering with the cancer that would later take her life.

When he finished speaking, it took me a few moments to process all he had said. Finally, I asked, Danny, having been through so much, how can you live the way you do? His answer was as profound as it was simple. Rob, I decided a long time ago that I wasnt going to let anything take away the joy that is mine in Jesus Christ.

The first three words of his answer have always stayed with me. Rob, I decided.

That day I learned from Danny that joy is a decision. In Christ, we have everything we need for joythe forgiveness of our sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a purpose worth living for, and the assurance of eternity with God. But whether we live with joy or let something take it from us, thats a choice each of us makes. Often, choosing joy is not easy. What makes it even more difficult is that its a decision we must make over and over. If it were as simple as flipping a switch, wed all be happy all the time.

But living with joy is a decision we must make and remake when our circumstances and our relationships and our brokenness threaten to take away the joy that is ours in Jesus Christ.

When we are worried and anxious, we can choose to cast our cares upon him (1 Peter 5:7). And we can live with joy.

When we have been wounded and hurt by the actions of others to the point that bitterness begins to poison our souls, we can choose to forgive and as a result be healed and set free.

When we have been disappointed by life or let down by others and we find ourselves becoming negative and cynical, we can decide that the state of our souls will be determined not by what happens to us but by what happens in us.