…the fight for joy is not for the unarmed.
What a statement! We often talk about fighting for our rights, values, faith, principles, family, political beliefs, communities, jobs, sanity, etc. but do we think of our joy as being something so precious that we must fight for it? I think we consider it a byproduct of something else, that it depends on our circumstances, but that isn’t the case. “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Without this joy, we aren’t as strong. We don’t have what we need to accomplish the plans and purposes of the Lord. Jesus endured the cross because of the “joy set before him.” If Jesus needed it, I’m pretty sure we do too. So, protect your joy, fight for your joy, rekindle it and nurture it and share it!