…is yooooouuuuu!!! Just kidding… but was I the only one who heard that song when I read the title here? Yes? Eh. Okay moving on. (BTW we both know you also heard that Mariah Carey song, don’t lie…God sees everything!) 😉

Seriously though. This post is about to get real because it is about the number one thing that our enemy wants during this Christmas season: your joy.

The enemy wants to come in and steal your joy.

Can you imagine the field day he is trying to have right now in stealing your joy? This is the time of year we sing “Joy to the world” and have signs of joy all around in preparation for the celebration of our Saviors birth. What better time for the enemy to swoop in and steal the very thing we are singing about? What better way to make a mockery of God then by grabbing our joy and making a run for it during the season of joy?

John 10:10 says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

The enemy (the thief) wants to destroy your patience, disrupt your peace, and distort your view of the true meaning of this season. He wants your to focus to be on the to-do list, the presents, and the pressure to pull it all off before the big night. He wants you to be burned out, beaten down, and worn to pieces. He is looking to shift your focus from the One who truly matters to the things of this world. He wants to steal your joy this Christmas just like the Grinch stole the presents in that old Christmas classic.

In John 10:10 we also see that “Christ came so that we may have life, and have it to the full”. That is quite the opposite of what the enemy has in store for us. Remember that the things of this world are temporary, but the things of God are eternal.

2 Corinthians “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Let’s stand against the schemes of the wicked one this season, let’s cry out in protest together, and cling to our joy and our hope and our reason for the season: Jesus Christ. The Messiah. The Chosen One.

Remember these verses as you prepare your homes and hearts for the celebration of our One True King this holiday season:

• Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
• John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
• Hebrews 6:19a “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”