Although everyone has a lot to be thankful for, the pace and pressure of life often capture the joy from many people. There are days, months, or years when people find it very difficult to get through. This week, in particular has been a tough week for me. Having been sick, not feeling quite myself, the craziness of teaching, feeling stressed and unprepared, the distractions that life brings, and finding out that I have a whole other list of food allergies. Like I did not have enough to deal with already. Peanuts, really? I live off of peanut butter! Besides that, seeing family, friends, co-workers, and students suffer from the trials and challenges that life brings. The truth is, life is hard. Everyone is faced with challenges whether you can physically see it or not. Sometimes people suffer on the inside and don’t show their emotions or pain on the outside, while others show it on the outside to where you can see. Either way, we all go through the difficult times. When it comes to the times in our lives when we face difficulties and trials how can we have joy then? Where is it that we find joy in the midst of trials?
While reflecting on this week and the many things that have not gone the way I had planned (shocker, I know), I was reminded of one of my favorite books in the bible, Philippians. Though this book is short, consisting of only 4 chapters, there is a lot to take away from it. In the book Philippians, Paul learned the secret of contentment and he revealed it to the Philippians. While he was under house arrest, he wrote this letter to the Philippians to thank some friends who had sent him money. In the letter he told them about a joy that does not depend upon outside circumstances because we get it free form Jesus Christ. Paul started out voicing his thanks to the Philippians. After describing some problems, he was facing in Rome, Paul discovered his insecurity about what his future holds. Either he would be executed or released. Regardless of his insecurities, Paul was confident and trusted God. He then painted a picture of humility and begged the Philippians to follow his example. He closed his letter by thanking the Philippians again for their generosity.
Joy in the Christian life is all about perspective. Joy is not based on circumstances. Now lets define two things before moving on, joy and happiness are two totally different things. Happiness is external. If the things in life are good with us, we say that we are happy. But if they shift, we are unhappy. Joy is inward. It is in the Lord in the inner core of our hearts. Meaning, Christians may be unhappy in certain circumstances; but can still find joy in the Lord.
We all wish Christianity could make us free from suffering. Unfortunately, following our faith does not excuse us from going through difficulties. There are times when we go through trial after trial, and we begin to feel forsaken by God and we start falling away from Him. But what we can count on is that God keeps His promises and He is never going to give up on us. Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it.” He has already devoted His life to us, so we can trust that He will finish whatever plan He has started for us. Knowing this, you can face every trial without fear.
Now, I am about to say something crazy. Paul believed that suffering was a privilege. Why would you even think that, Paul? In Matthew, chapter 5, it tells us that Jesus says that those of us who are insulted and persecuted are blessed. We are called to love and be faithful to God, even through sufferings. We are to fully entrust our lives to Him and count each suffering as a privilege.
In Philippians 3, Paul writes about putting all our focus on Christ and nothing else. There are often times that we focus so much of what is happening in this world that we forget the bigger picture. I am guilty of this! Paul was willing to throw everything away just to have joy in the Lord.
Paul says that what really matters, is the prize of the high calling. In Philippians 3:12-14 Paul Exclaims, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Paul wants us to focus on two things: To have a goal and to concentrate on the path set out for us. What he means by this is to focus on living our lives to the fullest each day. God’s goal is to transom us. He has a plan for each of us and it will lead us to joy and eternal blessing. Paul also tells us that we have not arrived at our purpose yet. Keep moving forward and do not get discouraged just as he did.
In the final chapter in Philippians, Paul encourages us to focus on the positives and to rejoice in the Lord with thanksgiving. Verse 4:4, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!” Even through rough circumstances, disagreements, persecution, and annoyances, we are to rejoice. I don’t know about you, but I am a worrier. I will lose sleep over little things that don’t even matter. In this book, Paul reminds us that if we waist our energy on worrying about earthly things, we are distracting ourselves from God. God wants us to have peace by putting all of our worries in Him so that we can live a life full of joy.
Live one day at a time. This is something I must tell myself every day because when you live with a chronic illness, every day is different. You could wake up feeling great one day and then not want to get out of bed the next. I will be fine sitting at a restaurant and watching everyone eat one evening, and then frustrated and emotional by it another evening. There are times when I am okay with only doing weights at the gym, and other days I find myself crying because I cannot go and run like I used to. Weird, I know. Most people cry when they have to run. It is a daily struggle. However, I am reminded that I only need to live for today and I should make the most of every breath I take. We cannot worry about what happened in the past or worry about what the future holds. Take it one day, one step, one breath at a time.
To sum up the book at its entirety, we can find joy in all circumstances. There will be times when we go through trials and hardships but If we live for Christ and give everything up to Him, He will bring us joy and peace. Paul went through poverty, beatings, illnesses, and even prison, but in every circumstance, Paul had learned to be content. Because he knew Jesus and believed in Him, he could find joy in every situation.
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