Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
By studying the book of Philippians, we have seen that Paul expressed joy in challenging circumstances (1:12-14 – his unjust imprisonment in Rome). He also insisted upon joy when difficult people were causing trouble (3:1-3 – false teachers; 4:1-4 – a personality conflict within the church). Moreover, Paul was confident in his joy despite the uncertain outcome of his trial (2:16-18) and the worry that accompanies such uncertainty (4:6-10). This joy was an uplifting certainty for Paul. He knew that he was eternally secure in Christ Jesus (1:21-23). He also knew that Jesus was coming back some day (3:20). Furthermore, he knew that God was in control of all things (2:9-11). If God is sovereign, why do we permit _____ to control our lives? If our sovereign God gives us His joy, why do we let _____ take it away? Each one of us can fill in these blanks and then ask our God to fill our lives with His goodnesses, including His joy, instead of those things that trouble us so often and so badly. Joy or worry – the choice is ours.