Isolation, a kill-joy
There are few possessions in life with as much value as joy. Joy isn’t just fleeting happy feelings but an inner peace and contentment despite one’s circumstances. As I went for a search for joy and how to get more of it in my life I wasn’t surprised that the Word says it is a fruit of the Spirit or that it comes from the presence of God (Ps. 16:11) but I was surprised that in over 16 passages of scripture we are told of the great joy that comes from others. In 2 Tim 1:4 Paul says to Timothy, “I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy”. If your joy is waning try seeking out a close friend the way Paul did Timothy. Timothy had been with Paul through thick and thin. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses, and had seen him persevere in trial. Friends like these can speak truth to us in a way we receive because they understand what makes us tick and what trips us up.
In another place Paul writes to Philemon, someone he addresses as a dear friend and fellow worker, “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement because you brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people” (vs 7). It wasn’t just the love and encouragement that Philemon gave Paul that gave him joy but also the way he ministered to the hearts of others. Sometimes the way we see others reaching out and loving gives us great joy, or hearing their testimony of how God is working in their lives, or when we see them overcome in an area that used to keep them bound, or when we see their faith grow. Satan knows the joy and refreshment that we get from our brothers and sisters in Christ so he will work overtime to keep us isolated. Isolation is one of his biggest tricks to keep us from experiencing joy.
One way he keeps us isolated is to fill us with insecurity and rejection to make us believe others won’t accept us or want to be around us. Sometimes if I am having a hard week and I know I’m down I let the enemy convince me not to pick up the phone to call a friend because I would be a downer and nobody wants to be around a downer. Yet I feel great joy when a friend trusts me enough to be vulnerable and let me in when they are hurting. It is a joy to listen, encourage and pray for them. It does a soul good to get out of their own world and shoulder someone else’s concern. You see the joy goes both ways. The hurting party experiences a release from their burden and encouragement and the friend receives the blessing of getting to be a part of something more important then mopping the floor or putting in the next load of laundry. So the next time the enemy tempts you to hold it in, buck it up, and isolate yourself because you wouldn’t want to ruin anyone else’s day think of this verse and remember that instead of protecting a friend you may be stealing from the joy your friend would get from relating and sharing your struggle.
The enemy can also use a critical spirit in us to keep us isolated. If we tend to be judgmental, then we might find it hard to find the “perfect person” to share our life with. We might be afraid that the differences we see in them would rub us the wrong way, annoy us or be awkward. Maybe they are from a different denomination, socio economic class, or maybe they just talk differently then you or feel more deeply or express more dramatically. God can use their differences to refine and sharpen us, He can use them to get us outside of our comfort zone or to expand our thoughts of Him and how He works outside of the box we may have Him in. We have to put ourselves out there and let doing life with others refresh us if we are going to walk in joy! . If we want great joy then we have to stop letting fear isolate us.
2016/04/08 at 3:16 pm