David Pool

It’s not news that in this present day of turmoil and upheaval, there are a lot of things to be worried about, to be stressed about, to be grumpy about. These things will suck the energy and happiness out of your life if you let it. If you let your mind go there it is a short step to a pervading disposition of grumpiness and pessimism.

The good news is there’s a better life and it is found in Christ. There is a remedy that we find in the epistle to the Philippians in the New Testament. 

Paul writes with emphasis, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4.

Really? We are supposed to rejoice always, as in all the time?

It’s one thing to read about joy and to talk about the idea of having perpetual joy, but doesn’t that seem a bit out of reach? A bit  unrealistic? Does it seem like Paul might not know what it is to live with pressures and things to worry about?

Judging from the whole of Philippians, the venerable apostle thought joy is indispensable to life in Christ. The word group for joy is used 16 times in the letter! And if we look closely, we’ll see three important truths about Christian joy.

First, joy is independent of life’s conditions. That is, having joy and being joyful does not depend on being in desirable circumstances. When Paul wrote this, he was sitting in a Roman prison awaiting a trial that would determine whether he lived or died. Yet, he was joyful. Look, no one gets through this life without being scathed, stretched and tried by difficult times and seasons. But in the midst of that there is joy for the Christian. 

This doesn’t deny disappointments, griefs or appropriate sadness. Elsewhere Paul says to weep with those who weep. But the key is that it is joy in the Lord, not circumstances. It is a joy that knows the love, grace and sufficiency of the Lord in every situation.

Joy is the consequence of knowing the true and living God loves you so much that he came for you, and he will never leave you. You are forever secure in him, and nothing can change that. No calamity can ever shake that truth, no bad news will ever overwhelm and diminish the Lord’s immense and infinite love for his people. Joy comes from knowing in an undeniable way that whatever happens, it is going to be OK because you are in the Lord!

The second thing we see in Philippians 4:4 is that joy is a command for Christians.

Commands are not optional. Dour, angry, hard-faced Christians? That just doesn’t go with what Paul mandates here. Joy doesn’t depend on your personality type. We all have a different set of strengths and weaknesses, but nonetheless, all of us who believe in Jesus Christ are called to a lifestyle of joy. The upshot is that joy is a choice. You can choose to be joyful no matter your personality, temperament or circumstances!

Finally, joy is cultivated as you control your thoughts. You can’t have joy if you fill your mind with the priorities, values and desires of this age. You must control your thinking! That is why it is so important to consider and reflect on what you have to be thankful for. Let gratitude to God fill your mind. Think about the nature and power of God. Meditate on his love for you, on the fact that he, “for the joy set before him, endured the cross,” paying the debt of our sins so that we can forever be with God and serve him.

If you want this kind of life, this kind of joy, then you must know that it is only available through faith in Jesus Christ. So, choose joy!

(David Pool is pastor at Grace Point in Powell.)