Joy-Stealer

Have you ever seen The Princess Bride? You know the scene where Miracle Max, Inigo Montoya, and Westley are talking and all of the sudden Miracle Max's wife, Valerie, jumps out and starts yelling, Liar! LIAR! LI-I-A-AR! 

This is what I imagine I'm supposed to do when I feel attacked by Satan. Liar! LIAR! LI-I-A-AR! Joy-stealer! JOY-STEALER! JOY-ST-E-E-E-LA-AR! 

Paul says to the church in Galatia, You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

It feels so matter-of-fact, like a rhetorical question.

But it's a valid question.

I was running just fine and then I stopped. Why? Who hindered me?

Well, circumstances did, but I know there is one who is doing everything in his limited power to hinder me, so it's not merely a coincidence that I stopped running.

And, let's not forget, I'm human. I get tired of running. I get distracted. Netflix looks like an appealing way to spend the evening and hitting snooze a couple times in the morning feels like a good option until I can't possibly delay waking up any longer. And with each passing day, discipline goes out the window and I'm in a vulnerable, undisciplined state, and Satan attacks and tries to hinder me from running. And then he throws discouragement and condemnation on top of that, making me feel bad for not running, and making it difficult to go back to running. And with each passing day, the act of not-running becomes normal and the act of running feels strenuous. And who would want to do something strenuous?

But then I realize that I'm barely living. Life is passing by, day after day and I'm standing on the sidelines watching it. There goes my joy and my strength and my love, and here I stand, with arms crossed.

I've spent the last week walking around under "skies of gray" - literally. I don't remember the last time I saw blue skies and the bright sun. But also, metaphorically, the skies have been gray. And I've chosen to simply accept the gray feelings and the lack of joy and strength and love.

And this is exactly where Satan wants me. The conniving fool somehow managed to blindside me again.

The race is hard and strenuous and it can feel like a good idea to stop running, to take a breather, but that's one of the times that Satan uses against us.

I'm tired of being disciplined. I'm having a bad day. Things aren't going my way. I'm tired of running. And our weariness becomes so present and he convinces us to stop.

Let us not forget that it is our weariness and weakness that Christ uses to make us strong. So when we feel like giving up on the whole running-the-race thing, hand it over to God because it is not really us who are running anyway - it is all Him.

And the next time we find ourselves contemplating the idea of halting the race, just yell: LI-I-A-AR! Because life isn't better outside of the race, no matter what he tries to convince you. It's boring and joy-less. Keep running, don't be hindered!