The Joy Robber

If you were told someone was going to come rob your house at a certain time, would you do something about it? Of course you would. You would do whatever necessary to protect your family, your possessions, and your life. Jesus assures us of this obvious fact when He says, “And be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into” (Luke 12:39).

Jesus’ messages always have multiple meanings. Here, He makes this comment for emphasis as He warns His disciples of the importance of readiness, readiness for His return at an hour that they will not expect. But there is another kind of readiness that God desires we have.

My body is a temple of God. I am a house for the Holy Spirit. (1 Co 3:16) God has given me my mind as the head of the household. My mind makes the decisions that have the greatest impact on my life. If my mind had known ahead of time when to expect the Thief to show up to try to rob my life of God’s pleasure, I would certainly have been ready to fend him off. But he came on many occasions without warning, and I was not prepared. My friend Tanya calls the devil “The Joy Robber.” How appropriate! He has certainly robbed me of joy in the past when I didn’t see him coming.

God warns us in 1 Peter 5:8 to, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We all know it’s true. We’ve all had his teeth sink into us a time or two, robbing us of joy here and there. But since we cannot know what hour the Thief will try to sneak in, we must be diligent in our minds to stay alert and do whatever necessary to protect our spiritual house from invasion.

There’s a lot of evil in the world. Satan is tricky. Guard yourselves from his influence and impact on your life. Be alert and prepared. Look for cracks in the foundation of your temple, and fill them with God’s Word. Make your temple a house of continual prayer and praise. Follow His blueprints for life. Beware of solicitors. Foster godly friendships - they make great alarm systems! Choose to stay out of the weather and under the protection of God’s presence where there is fullness of joy. Do whatever it takes to keep the “The Joy Robber” from getting anywhere near your house!