Romans 12:1-2

The battlefield is your mind. There are jobs and sometimes people in your life that may be joy suckers ( My husband calls them joy vampires). These people and jobs cause your mind to turn from thinking on the positive and good around you to focusing on the negative. If it is your job stealing your joy, pray about your attitude. Look at it from the perspective of what God has to say. Col. 3:17 reminds us to do whatever we do in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Look at your job by asking how could the way I respond further His kingdom. Maybe it is like the neighborhood children. I was seeing money and food, but God was seeing the lost and hurting. Ask God to change your mind and heart toward whatever it is that sucks your joy out.

If it is people who are robbing your joy ask God to reveal to you why. Is it that they are just negative by nature? Are they demanding and expect compliance from you? Be very careful because too much time spent with a joy sucker can affect your attitude. Rick Warren says, “What gets your mind gets you.” When you are tempted to get discouraged, angry, or you feel taken advantage of be very careful that you see the enemy attack for what it is. Pray and ask God to give you His perspective. Try to define what is stealing your joy. Ask God to reveal anything you aren’t seeing then remedy your situation by thinking on good. Study scripture and allow truth to permeate your thoughts. Focus on Jesus, and limit time with joy sucking people when possible. Make sure you do not become a joy sucker. Your mind really is the battle field, and where you allow your mind to rest will determine your heart attitude.