You were created with the unique capacity for joy. It’s God’s gift to you. You can seek joy, experience joy and give joy. The problems in our life come when our joy gets twisted. When we desire ungodly things for our joy, then we sin. When we seek joy from things of the world over things from God, then we lose our way.

Really think about it – can you see how every evil in this world comes from a twisted joy? When our pleasures and desires get off track our lives will follow.

The first twisted joy was in Satan himself. He was an angel created specifically to lead the praise of God, but he began to find joy in receiving his own praise. He was given great honor, then he found joy in having the honor for himself. He was placed in a position of leadership, but his joy grew in becoming the leader. And this twisted joy became the first and greatest evil in the world. Every act of evil since has flowed from the same source – a twisted joy.

Why do people commit adultery? A twisted joy.
Why do people lie, cheat and steal? A twisted joy.
Why do people chase more money? A twisted joy.
Why do people fall into addictions? A twisted joy.
Why do people spend hours every day mindlessly scrolling, consumed by a continual feed of nonsense? A twisted joy.

And the enemy of your soul absolutely LOVES that twisted joy. Why? Because it is bringing you to the same hopeless darkness he dwells in. It separates you from God.

In Revelation 12: 3-4, we read a line that sounds like a villain straight out of a children’s story book. Listen to this. “I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth.” But, this isn’t a story book, this is God’s divine word. Every word is here for a divine purpose and willed by him to be preserved for us. Every word is alive with the power of his spirit, sharper than a two-edged sword.

So, what is John telling us that God is showing him? In scripture, the dragon is Satan himself. Yes, the one who rose up in pride with his twisted joy, that’s the dragon. The heads and horns and crowns all signify specific things, but we’re not going to get lost in them today. Instead, we’re going to focus on these stars he sweeps away with his tail. What are these stars? They are God’s angels. Many times throughout scripture angels are called stars.

Let’s read it again now that we understand the dragon is Satan and the stars are angels. “I saw a large red dragon … His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth.” And this is how we know Satan led a revolt in Heaven and 1/3 of the God’s angels followed him.

How could that possibly happen? Twisted joy.

Let’s be clear … God has never and will never create an evil being. God creates good and beautiful beings with the capacity for joy, then he gives them free will. In their free will, they can choose their own source for joy.

If the angels in heaven who stand in the presence of God can be led into a twisted joy, never be so arrogant to think you can’t be as well. 1/3 of the angels were fooled and followed Satan, finding their joy in his pursuits of power. And those angels became demons. They were thrown to this earth to dwell here and be Satan’s minions for acts of evil.

Are they real? Absolutely they’re real. They are fallen angels, created by God with the capacity for joy, but used their free will to chase joy all the way to hell.

And that’s a warning to every one of us today. We can chase joy all the way to the pits of hell. We can pursue things that bring us temporary pleasures and leave us forfeiting the fullness of life we were created for.

Satan is always looking for an opportunity to twist your joy and take you away from your Creator. Can you see how he’s been doing that in your life? Can you see how your day is consumed with pursuits that have absolutely nothing to do with God and then you wonder why you don’t have peace? Can you see how your ideas of joy have gotten twisted and perverted into worldly things that don’t have the fingerprints of God on them?

It brings me joy to drink.
It brings me joy to shop.
It brings me joy to watch trash TV and chill out.
It brings me joy to talk like that, dress like that, post pictures like that.
It brings me joy to get that attention.
It brings me joy to keep scrolling.

And it’s all just twisted joy. That’s not real joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” The joy God offers makes you stronger. The twisted joy the world offers makes you weak. You’re weak to temptations. Weak to the traps of evil. So of course the enemy of your soul doesn’t have to come in and make you a serial killer, he just has to twist your joy and then girl, you will fall. Just like the angels, you’ll fall. You can use that free will of yours to get all wrapped up in the wrong pleasures and pursuits and fall face first into a real mess of a life.

Galatians 5:22 says joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Meaning when the Spirit of God is living in you, pure joy is a natural result. Joy grows where God’s spirit is welcome. It’s when we don’t allow space for God’s spirit and we clutter our lives with busyness, noise and nonsense that our joy gets twisted.

Joy comes in the presence of the Lord. Eternal pleasures, meaning not fleeting pleasures but pleasures that last forever, come from the right hand of God. The fight has been on to keep you too busy to be in the presence of God. The battle has been raging to keep you chasing anything but the right hand of God. And just how successful has Satan and his demons been at that?

Without a close relationship with God, you feel the absence of joy and you go searching for it in all the wrong places. And when your joy gets twisted, you start pursuing a life that is far less than you were created for, and you fall.

Yes, you fall. You fall for the traps of the devil. You fall for the fake joy offered in worldly things. You fall into a sin that traps your soul and darkens your thoughts. Never assume you’re above that. If 1/3 of the angels could fall for a twisted joy, honey, so could you.

But here’s the good news, 2/3 of the angels didn’t fall. God has 2/3 of the angels still in Heaven fighting for you! And you know what they’re fighting for today – they’re fighting for you to find the joy of the Lord so you are strengthened. They’re fighting for you to get in God’s presence and find true joy and eternal pleasures. They’re fighting to untwist anything the devil and his demons have twisted in your life and set you free to live with untwisted joy.

What is your source of joy? Where are your pursuits for joy? Is it getting a little twisted?

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