Battling the Joy Killer

Posted on by Robin Wisner

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In the midst of busy lives, we must not forget that an enemy lurks… the joy killer. To be unaware or unconcerned is to be as vulnerable as a lamb among a pack of wolves. My intention here is not to be an alarmist, but state the fact that we live in a world of opposing forces. We must know our enemy.

My husband just returned from a long weekend Christian retreat. Before he left, a friend of mine wisely advised, “Be prepared for attacks from the enemy. This experience is a big deal and the enemy does not want him to gain anything from it.”

During the four days he was gone, I admit, I felt a little fearful. In the back of my mind, I expected something traumatic to happen while he was away. Something that would cause him worry or worse, to leave the retreat early.  However, it turned out to be an uneventful weekend (with the exception of hurricane preparations), and by the time he returned I felt certain that we had avoided evil. I was not prepared for the attack that came after he returned home.

How easily do we fall into the trap? A slight change in tone of voice, a facial expression, or simply not giving our full attention… all ways that the enemy can slip a foot in there and stir up emotions and misunderstandings. The enemy doesn’t really need to work that hard to get us off track. All he needs to do is look at what distracts us and push more of it in front of us. Sometimes, it feels like we’re just being tossed upon the rough seas.

 

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So where do we turn when the joy killer begins to strike? Personally, I stop what I’m doing and pray. It may be short and sweet, but in that  moment, I ask God to help me correct my part of the conflict. I ask Him to clear our minds of whatever the damaging spirit is. I turn it over to him. Then I take a deep breath and take a “do-over.” My husband has learned to separate himself from the situation and retreats to his personal space to listen to worship music or play his guitar. It’s funny, we’ve never verbalized to each other our strategies but somehow, we know what to do and it works.

Thirty minutes has gone by. I hear Hillsong playing in the basement. For the moment, the joy-killer has been arrested.