Francis Berger
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Joy - A Most Peculiar Weapon

2/10/2021

7 Comments

 
Why do the enemy work so diligently to make the world so joyless?

Because they want to disarm us.

The enemy cannot provide us with joy because joy emanates from the Divine and from what is divine within us.


Yes, the enemy can offer all sorts of amusements, distractions, pleasures, comforts, but without the infusion of the Divine, these things can never be truly joy-full - merely amusing, distracting, pleasurable, or comfortable.

The enemy's "joy" is nothing more than temptations to empty promises, but in this time and place, even empty promises strike the enemy as too "full." Consequently, the enemy has replaced its amusements with depression, its distractions with intrusions, its pleasures with pain, and its comforts with grief - all in the name of destroying joy.

For the enemy, the presence of joy is a testament to the presence of God and the presence of God's love. As such, the enemy see joy as a most heinous weapon. 

Joy is not a weapon, but if the enemy believe it to be one, then be fully-armed at all times and attack them with this peculiar weapon every chance you get. 

Let joy pierce depression, repel intrusion, smother pain, and assail grief. 

Let the presence of God shine.

Let the presence of God's love burn. 
7 Comments
Milton Stanley link
2/11/2021 04:30:02

Amen. Beautifully said and spot-on.

Reply
Francis Berger
2/11/2021 11:03:26

@ MS - Thanks. Much appreciated.

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bruce charlton
2/11/2021 09:31:23

That's very astute.

If we take the model of Luciferic, Ahrimanic and Sorathic evil as having validity; we can see that Luciferic evil had some place for joy, Ahrimanic very little, and Sorathic none at all (only the cruel sadism of a tormenter.

The main incentive in our increasingly Sorathic world (which seems modelled on a concentration camp) seems to be the chance to become one of the elite of tormentors, instead of one of the mass of tormented.

Reply
Francis Berger
2/11/2021 11:07:42

@ Bruce - Thanks. Yes, I agree. At the very least, the Luciferic offered some joy - or perhaps more correctly - some semblance of joy via the emotions/passions. Ahriman censures and controls joy. Sorath inverts it entirely - "joy" in causing pain and destruction, which is not truly joy at all.

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Howard Sutherland
2/11/2021 18:10:10

This astute post reminds me of something I read quite recently. Over the past few months I've been investigating Latter-day Saint Christianity, including reading the Book of Mormon and other LDS scriptures for the first time. There is a lot of interesting and Christ-centred spirituality in the particular LDS scriptures that are part of their canon alongside the Bible.
I'm reminded of a verse Latter-day Saints consider one of the most important in all of scripture. It comes towards the end of a discussion of the need for the Fall of Man, in order to enable God's Plan of Salvation (an area where LDS belief varies from other Christian churches):
"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:25.
Another in the same vein, minus the word joy itself, is in the Book of Moses, not the Book of Mormon, when God is speaking to Moses of the purposes of His Creation:
"For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and the eternal life of man." Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39.
God makes a distinction between mere immortality, which everyone will experience in some form, and eternal life, a higher state reserved for those who embrace Jesus Christ and keep His commandments. To attain to that higher state, I should think one must be able to give and receive joy. Which only reinforces your point that this is a grave depth of evil that the powers and principalities are now plumbing, with their relentless stripping of joy from every aspect of life within their grasp.
WJT's synchronicity fairies at work?

Reply
Francis Berger
2/11/2021 20:34:52

@ Howard - Thanks for the great comment and excellent connections. I especially like the observation about the higher state being tied to giving and receiving joy.

As to your question at the end, it very well could be the fairies at work. Coincidentally enough, I just finished writing a post about one of Wm's posts.

Reply
Wm Jas Tychonievich link
2/12/2021 09:13:30

Delighted to hear that you are exploring Mormonism, Howard. The Mormon missionary anthem, “Called to Serve,” originally contained the line “Joy our strength will be,” but this was unfortunately edited out in the 20th century because someone thought it too close to the Nazi slogan “strength through joy.”

In 2 Nephi 2, just two verses after “men are that they might have joy,” we are told that the devil “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”

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