Hijacked Joy Part 3

Mar 15, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Danger of Living in the Past

Looking back can prevent us from seeing the blessings of today. When we are fixated on what was, we miss the joy of what is. This focus on yesterday often leads to murmuring and complaining, just as it did for the Israelites. It creates a filter of dissatisfaction that colors our present reality. We must recognize this tendency to protect our God-given joy. [02:05]

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3 ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific memory or season from your past that you find yourself idealizing or wishing you could return to? How might this longing be causing you to miss the good things God is doing in your life right now?

Day 2: Viewing Bondage as Better Than Promise

Sometimes our memory distorts reality, making past hardship seem preferable to future promise. We can mistakenly see our former chains as a place of provision and safety. This deception causes us to desire the familiar pain of slavery over the unknown freedom of God’s plan. It is a profound trick of the enemy to make us fear the very deliverance we prayed for. [14:09]

And they said to them, “Let the Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?” (Exodus 5:21-22 ESV)

Reflection: Can you identify an area in your life where you are currently tolerating a form of bondage because the process of freedom feels too uncertain or difficult? What is one step of faith you can take this week to move toward God’s promise instead?

Day 3: Letting Go to Move Forward

Progress requires release. Just as on the monkey bars, we cannot reach for the next rung without letting go of the last one. Holding onto the past, whether good or bad, keeps us suspended and unable to move into all God has for us. This act of letting go is an essential step of faith toward the future God has planned. [20:21]

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV)

Reflection: What is one thing from your past—a regret, a success, a hurt, or an old identity—that you need to consciously let go of this week in order to press on toward what God has for you?

Day 4: Glancing Back, But Living Forward

Our past is meant to be a reference point, not a residence. A rearview mirror is for occasional glances, not for constant focus while driving forward. Living with our eyes fixed on where we are going allows us to navigate the present and future with confidence. God is always doing a new thing, and we must position ourselves to see it. [23:36]

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV)

Reflection: In your daily routine, what practical habit could you develop to spend less time mentally dwelling on the past and more time anticipating what God is doing now and will do in the future?

Day 5: Knowing God’s Promises for Yourself

We cannot claim a promise we do not know exists. Reading Scripture for ourselves reveals the vastness of God’s warranties and guarantees for our lives. This personal knowledge equips us to identify the enemy’s attempts to hijack our joy. A deep understanding of God’s character and word is our greatest defense against losing our joy. [34:53]

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105 ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific promise from Scripture that you can begin to meditate on and stand upon this week when you feel your joy being threatened?

Sermon Summary

The series title “hijacked joy” frames joy as a God-given gift that the enemy seeks to steal, and living in the past emerges as a primary joy hijacker. Living in the past traps the heart in memory, whether the memories are painful or pleasant, and prevents full engagement with present blessings and future promises. The children of Israel provide a vivid portrait: fresh deliverance, visible signs of God’s power, and still a recurring urge to return to Egypt. That longing for former things produced murmurings, rebellion, and a readiness to choose bondage over the promised land. Scripture passages—Exodus at the Red Sea, Numbers with Korah’s challenge, Isaiah’s call to “remember not the former things,” and Paul’s clinching admonition to forget what lies behind—shape a clear theological diagnosis: nostalgia and rumination can invert reality by turning past survival tactics into present idols.

Practical metaphors reinforce the diagnosis. Sports fans fixating on old records miss new achievements; a driver who stares at the rearview mirror will crash; a child on monkey bars cannot reach the next rung without letting go of the previous one. Even spiritual victories can calcify into objects of worship, as the bronze staff example shows—what once healed later became an idol when people refused to move beyond it. The remedy lies in active spiritual discipline: read Scripture to learn God’s promises and “warranty,” identify joy hijackers (worry, pleasing people, fear, nostalgia), repent of clinging to old rungs, and press toward the goal. The sermon urges believers to reclaim joy by living in what God is doing now, trusting Jeremiah 29:11 as a present assurance, and adopting a forward-focused faith that anticipates new works from God rather than mourning or idolizing what has already passed.

Key Takeaways

1. Living in the past steals joy Living in the past anchors attention to what has already happened and steals the capacity to rejoice in present provision and future promise. Memory can become a prison when it eclipses gratitude and obedience toward God’s unfolding work. Turning attention away from nostalgia frees the soul to see God’s new movement today. [02:05]
2. Remember victories without idolizing them Victories serve as markers of God’s faithfulness, not as perpetual shrines. When a past deliverance becomes the focus of worship, it obstructs fresh dependence and invites spiritual idolatry. Remember what God did, but refuse to let that memory replace obedience to present calling. [24:27]
3. Let go to reach forward Momentum requires release: holding the previous rung prevents progress on the next one. Spiritual growth demands sacrificially abandoning comfortable patterns and trusting the stretch toward God’s promise. Embrace risk in faith rather than retreat into familiar bondage. [16:55]
4. Identify joy hijackers and resist Joy hijackers appear as worry, people-pleasing, fear, or sticky nostalgia; identifying them clarifies where to repent and reclaim joy. Scripture functions like a warranty, revealing God’s promises and exposing enemy tactics. Name the hijacker, surrender it, and pursue God’s forward-facing purposes with expectancy. [36:10]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:03] - Joy Hijacker Defined
[02:05] - Living in the Past
[04:02] - Israel’s Wilderness Pattern
[07:33] - Red Sea Deliverance, Immediate Doubt
[12:57] - Nostalgia vs. Promise
[16:55] - Forget the Past, Press On
[20:21] - Letting Go to Advance
[24:27] - When Victories Become Idols
[30:18] - Reclaim Joy; Believe the Promise

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 43:18-19 (ESV)
Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Exodus 14:11-12 (ESV)
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Observation questions

What specific instruction does Paul give about the past in Philippians 3:13-14?
According to Isaiah 43:18-19, what does God command about former things, and what does He promise instead?
What complaint did the Israelites make to Moses in Exodus 14:11-12 immediately after witnessing God’s deliverance?
What example was given about a driver who stares too long at the rearview mirror? [23:05]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think the Israelites so quickly forgot God’s miracles and longed to return to Egypt, even though they had been slaves?
How can remembering past victories sometimes become a barrier to trusting God for new things? [24:27]
In what ways can nostalgia for either good or bad seasons of life prevent someone from moving forward spiritually?
What does it mean to “press on toward the goal” in everyday life, and what might that require a person to release? [16:55]

Application questions

What is one thing from your past—whether a failure, success, or season of life—that you find yourself repeatedly dwelling on? How might that be holding you back from what God is doing now?
Where have you noticed yourself complaining or longing for “how things used to be” instead of thanking God for what He is doing today? [08:32]
What’s one specific “rung” on the monkey bars you need to let go of to move forward in your relationship with God or obedience to Him? [20:21]
How can regularly reading Scripture help you identify when joy is being hijacked by fear, worry, or living in the past? [34:53]
What promise from God do you need to stand on today instead of looking backward?
Is there an area in your life (finances, health, relationships) where you’ve lost sight of the goal God has for you? What’s one practical step you can take this week to reorient toward that goal? [28:00]
Who can you share with this week about what God is doing now in your life, to help you stay focused on His present work rather than the past?

Sermon Clips

33s

#StopLivingInThePast

“I'm a say that again. If stuck on a good past, it's still living in the past. Yeah. I know there's nobody here. You ever meet somebody who may be like 50, 60 years old, and they talk about their glory days in high school? They talk about how when I was in high school, man, I was the starting running back. You know, when I was in high school, I played with so and so, and I played with so and so, and I remember I tackled so and so, and they're just stuck in the glory days.”

26s

#LetGoToMoveForward

“And in order to be able to walk into that promise, to be able to walk into that blessing, we've got to let go of the past in our lives. And the enemy tries to use our past of shame, the past of what we've did done, the past of who we were, and we've got to let go of it to reach on to what God has. It's like when you do the monkey bars. Now I don't know about you. I can't do the monkey bars anymore, but when I was little, I could do the monkey bars.”

23s

#LetGoGainMomentum

“And when I grab and I let go, I can use my momentum to get to the other one, and I can use it to get to the other one. But if I get into a spot where I'm between, and I don't let go of the past, I don't let go of the previous rung, I'm gonna lose it all and stay there. And I might go forward, or I might go back, but I get so heavy on myself that I fall to the ground.”

37s

#PromiseOverComfort

“Egypt was the land flowing with milk and honey. And this is what happens when we're stuck living in the past. It can cause us to view the bondage as better than the promise. It can cause us to view the bondage. They wanted to go back to bondage because they said the food was free. It wasn't free. It was slavery. And not only was it slavery, they were killing the children.”

28s

#ChoosePresentJoy

“Living in the past hijacks our joy. And how many of you know there's a lot of us that are stuck in where we used to be, and what happens when we're stuck in our past and when we're living in our past is that it keeps us from the joy of today. Living in the past keeps you from the joy of today. It keeps you from being in that moment and what's taking place in it. And there's so many times that we are standing in front of something that we should be rejoicing,”

29s

#PastIsNotAnIdol

“And some of us, our past has become our idol. Our past has become our focus, and we'll never get to the place that God has for us today if we're looking through a past, to who where we were or even the victories we had attained. Behold, I'm doing a new thing. Reach forward. I know that even nonathletes love to watch the Olympics.”

26s

#StandOnThePromise

“No. I don't wanna go back to those days. I stand on the promise that as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And it's not what Johnny did at 12, it's that I'm gonna see Johnny worshiping again. Amen. Standing on the promise, getting rid and letting go of that past, whether it was a difficult past, a painful one, or a fun and good one. We can't be in that past. It's like when you're driving.”

26s

#PastBlocksPurpose

“you and I have got to understand that we can't be living in the past and where we were, because when we're stuck in that past, it prevents us from where God wants us now. It can steal our joy from the moment. It can cause us to murmur and complain, and it can even lead us to a place where we desire the bondage over the freedom we have in Christ.”

32s

52s

“in order to be able to walk into that promise, to be able to walk into that blessing, we've got to let go of the past in our lives. And the enemy tries to use our past of shame, the past of what we've did done, the past of who we were, and we've got to let go of it to reach on to what God has. It's like when you do the monkey bars. Now I don't know about you. I can't do the monkey bars anymore, but when I was little, I could do the monkey bars. And the thing about the monkey bars is that you get on that first ring, and you stretch, and you grab a hold of that one, but you can't go to the third rung without letting go of this one. And when I grab and I let go, I can use my momentum to get to the other one, and I can use it to get to the other one. But if I get into a spot where I'm between, and I don't let go of the past, I don't let go of the previous rung, I'm gonna lose it”

24s

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