Let no man steal your joy

You know I've heard that term many times in the past , always thinking it was referring to conflict etc. But a few weeks ago Pastor Joey used the term when he was talking about people you are concerned about, people you care for etc. It has haunted me since then. I am such an emphathetic person, I feel others pain really deeply and more times than not I let it bring me down. So for the past few weeks I have been saying it over and over in my head, " Let no man steal your joy"
Enter into the scene, someone you love dearly and have tried for quite some time to help through a struggle with sin in their lives, and for quite some time this person has done really well, until last weekend when this person blew it big time. Enter now my emotion of the situation, my heart breaking for this person, because they feel so bad and so condemned. I assured them that there is no condemnation through Christ and we just have to pick up the pieces and move on.
But all day yesterday I fought hard to "let no man steal my joy" God truly prepared me for the situation a few weeks ago but I can't say I passed with flying colors, it came after an exhausting weekend and some physical stuff going on with me, so my guard wasn't completley up.
I don't know if anyone is like me that when your trying to help someone through tough times and they blow it, a part (sometimes a big part) of you feels like you failed them. I know I'm very hard on myself, that is what the devil was speaking to me, all day long, " you failed, you should've done this different or this different" At some points I was really doubting the effectivness of my ministry (stupid devil) But I fought through it, we had an amazing day at church yesterday, which kept me in the right frame of mind, and when it tried to hit me again today I just kept rebuking and repeating the word
I don't think anyone still reads this blog, but if you do maybe it's for you that I shared something so personal, but it's also for me, to speak the truth of God's word , to shove it in the devil's face!

And the person and I are wiping off her knees and starting over, not from square one but getting back on the path, think about the fact also that she didn't have to tell me yet she did, that is a big step, and she knows that God is with her every step of the way, and I'll be there to hold her hand