"What good are all our blessings, if we can't enjoy them?"

"What good are all our blessings if we can't enjoy them?" - Mike Mason

This is partly the cry of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. It is solely related to our Joy , or lack thereof, in Christ.

"The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - Jesus (John 10:10)

The devil does want to steal kill and destroy our lives. This is directly aimed at our joy in Christ. If we give the enemy rights to take what is rightly ours, we will indeed be, I dare say almost miserable Christians.

 Ineffective may be the correct term, but a weight of concern is addressed here: Stealing, Killing, & Destroying. A Thief through and through.

With the weight of evil on one side, the weight of good and glory on the other: "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

And herein lies the crux of the matter: A Daily Battle between good and evil, a Daily Battle between accepting lies and/or truth, A Daily Battle between ones' lack of joy and ones' abundance of joy.

We forget we are in a battle. This probably should be addressed more. We are in a spiritual battle. This must be the foundation in our attempt; rather FIGHT , for our lives' joy in Christ.

When we understand the devil is constantly finding ways to steal, kill, and destroy our Joy. We can in turn be constantly looking to Christ for his Life and His Life Abundantly.

I am not claiming I have won, nor have understood fully what our lives should look like in the context of Jesus' words: "have life and have it abundantly"

But I know there was Joy and Joy abundantly when I first accepted Christ into my heart. There was much Joy when I was baptized, there was much Joy when I saw others come to Christ. It was apart of the beginning with Christ, and it should be a recurring theme in our lives.

So we must not go forward, but rather backward. Back to heart of when we first understood what it meant when "our sins are forgiven". What it meant when "Jesus loves you". What it meant when "He died for you". Because there we will find the root of our joy in Christ. We must not let this grow old, slowly letting the devil steal , kill, and destroy the true meaning of our everyday walk with Christ.

We are free men. No free man walks around in Chains.