Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NLT)
Over the past few days we’ve been discussing seven things that can rob you of joy. Weariness, identity lies, sin, selfishness, a lack of purpose, fear—these can steal your joy if you allow them to take over in your life.
The last joy thief to mention in this series is called familiarity. You see, joy leaves when what was once precious becomes common. You no longer enjoy something when you stop being grateful for it. It stops being special to you, even if you once were very excited about it.
For example, you may have spent two years pursuing that man or woman of your dreams, but if you lose your appreciation for your spouse one year into marriage, you’ll stop enjoying the relationship. You will no longer see that person as a special someone to be cherished.
Familiarity is something you allow in. If you’ve stopped cherishing someone or something, you can’t blame that on a few problems. Of course, there are extreme examples when it isn’t safe to continue a relationship. But generally speaking, you choose to stop valuing a person, job, house, church or whatever the case may be. And when you stop valuing something, you lose all enjoyment of it. You lose your joy.
Don’t let what was once very special to you become common. Don’t hang around people who treat the things you value as insignificant–people who devalue marriage or church for example. Make the decision today that you will not become overly familiar with what you love, and you will live this life of joy that Jesus has made possible for you!